Eternal
by lunarfaewolf
Summary: Jade McHale has a long and twisted past along with a life of loss and solidarity; until she meets a new student who she finds herself inexplicably drawn to. American highschool AU.
1. Chapter 1

So, no magic, but Jade is still a lycan, in an American high school in Colorado. No where really specific, but this was a little fun to write, Jade is an out cast and known for being extremely violent and Hermione is a new girl. 0.0 This fic could be a bit darker than most I've written.

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Chapter 1: Introductions

How many decades had she been alive now? She really couldn't remember exactly, it was 2013 and she had been born in 1887, attacked and bitten in 1905. Technically, she was over one hundred years old, but forever in her eighteen year old body and now she was trying to live a life in a small town in Colorado. It was fall, October to be specific and she was walking to the school she had been attending for the past two years. Her black hair swirled as she reached campus and made her way to the door just as it started to rain.

"Hold the door!" Blue eyes looked over her shoulder as she stepped aside to see a shorter girl with brown wavy hair run into the school. "Sorry, I didn't want to get caught in the rain longer than necessary. Thanks so much for holding the door for me." Jade was take back when warm brown eyes looked up and the girl smiled warmly at her before walking off towards the main office.

**_She must be new. _**She concluded since she had never seen her before and was currently talking to the principal in the office.

"Hey, McHale," A tall, lumbering red headed boy walked in from behind her and shoved her with his elbow. "Oops, my bad."

"Hope those muscles are worth you tiny dick, Weasel." Jade spat as she squared her shoulders and narrowed her eyes at the boy. A few people around them oooh'd at the insult as the red head doubled back and stalked towards the dark haired girl. He was a few inches taller than she was, but she didn't back down as he narrowed his pale blue eyes at her. Suddenly, the principal poked his head out of the office door.

"Ronald Weasley! McHale!" He called as he stepped out into the hall with the new girl following him. "Break it up right now and get to your classes." The pair shot death glares at one another before Ron huffed and walked away. Jade rolled her eyes as she readjusted her bag and walked towards the stair case. She glanced over at the new girl who had a confused look on her face before the principal handed her off to another student to help her with her class locations.

"Almost kill Weasley again?" A blonde boy asked as he met Jade at the top of the stairs. "I'm waiting for the day that you get to lay him on his back."

"Someday." The older girl sighed nonchalantly as they turned towards their lockers to get their books for homeroom. "Hey, what do you know about a new girl?" Draco Malfoy was, in teenage years, two years younger than Jade instead of the hundreds that actually separated them. He was the only one she had trusted enough to tell her secret to and he helped take the edge off of being alone all the , they were outcasts in the school and could care less about that fact.

"Not too much," He answered as they entered their Physics class and sat in the back of the room. "I hear she's pretty smart though, I wouldn't be surprised if you have some classes with her." They bell rang loudly as their teacher walked in and demanded silence before starting class.

x-x

Hermione was in her third period class which was Literature that she had with Harry Potter, who incidentally had been her guide to the new building. They had the last few minutes of class to study or finish the homework given and that time was used to introduce her to a red head named Ginny.

"So, Hermione," Ginny started as she leaned over her desk towards the brunette. "How do you like it here so far? Is it very different from your last school?"

"Well, it's quite a bit bigger." Hermione scanned the room and the large windows that showed the courtyard in the middle of the school. "My old one was only one story." As she put her books in her bag and looked out the window on the door into the hallway, she saw the raven haired girl she had met briefly that morning walking gracefully down the hall with her earbuds in. "Hey, who is that?"

"Oh, that's Jade McHale." Harry's voice was quiet as if the girl could hear him through the walls. "She's a senior, but just moved here two summers ago so she's sort of new too. I'd stay away from her if I was you."

"Why?"

"She's a bit…well, violent for lack of better word." The red headed girl continued on where Harry had left off as she told the brunette about the older girl. "She keeps mainly to herself and only has one friend she barely talks to, not to mention her temper. Last year, an older boy was just minding his own business and accidentally knocked her books out of her arms, so she broke his!"

"Come on, Gin." The bespectacled boy snorted as he shook his head. "That was just a rumor…right?" Ginny shrugged as the bell rang and the whole class stood up to leave. "Come on, Hermione, we've got lunch now." The brunette nodded as she followed her new friends and through about the dark haired girl. As they reached the cafeteria and got their food, they walked towards a table where a blonde girl and brunette boy sat chatting with an Asian girl.

"Hermione, this is Luna Lovegood," Ginny motioned to the blonde who smiled kindly at her. "Neville Longbottom and Cho Chang." The boy and girl smiled and waved at the new girl who greeted them back with a bright smile. Even though she, Harry, Neville, and Cho were a year older than Ginny and Luna, they all seemed to meld very well together as friends.

"I hear Jade tried to start something with Ron again this morning." Cho added as Ginny and Hermione sat down and started eating their food. "Someone said she was about to punch him before the principal intervened."

"When isn't she trying to start something?" The red head asked as she took a drink of her water and sighed. "I swear she's mental, like her fuse must be practically burned out."

"I was there," Hermione said quietly as Cho and Ginny looked at her curiously. "If anything, it looked like your brother was the one who was about to hit her. Jade seemed, really calm actually."

"Probably just waiting for the right time to catch him off guard." Harry chimed before poking at his pizza which seemed exceptionally greasy. "I mean, Ron has gotten bigger for football, but I still don't think he could take her down. She's scary fast." Neville and the others nodded as suddenly, the boy's eyes found something behind Hermione and he froze.

"Uh-oh," Neville whispered as his eyes followed whatever he had found. Hermione and Harry turned to see Jade walking through the corridor, she paused for a moment and looked into the cafeteria before rolling her eyes and turning towards the doors that led to the courtyard outside. "Jeez I thought she was going to come in here for a moment."

"She doesn't eat in here?" The brunette asked as her attention fell back onto Neville.

"I'm not really sure if she even eats." Luna said dreamily as she stared at her fruit on her plate. "I never really see her in here, and if Ron is here then you can always assume she won't be. They have a very rough past, but no one really knows why."

"Excuse me, I think I forgot something in class." The new girl smiled at her new friends before standing up and taking her plate to the trash by the door. Once she was in the hall, she followed the blue eyed girl's path to the courtyard, the rain had stopped, but it was still damp and chilly so there wasn't anyone outside. Brown eyes scanned the vicinity for the older girl and she sighed heavily when there was no sight of her. As she was turning to head back inside, Hermione heard a faint clicking noise.

"Looking for something?" Hermione's head whipped to the left and there was Jade, leaning up against the damp brick of the school with a cigarette between her lips. "It's not safe to be around me alone, haven't you heard?" The look in those azure orbs was almost bone chilling as they glared at the brunette from the shadow of the building, almost glowing in the dark.

"Don't you know how unhealthy smoking is for you?" The shorter girl retorted bravely as she took a step towards Jade whose eyes widened in surprise. She chuckled then as she took a drag from her cigarette and stood up straight to look at the new girl.

"Are you going to tattle on me, new girl?" The senior quirked an eyebrow and advanced on the brunette. "Because I don't give a fuck about this place and I certainly don't care about whatever meager punishment they can dish out on me." Jade was standing toe to toe with Hermione now and her bangs were slightly shielding her menacing gaze as the younger girl swallowed hard.

"I wasn't going to tell anyone." She breathed as she looked down at the concrete beneath her feet. "Your business is your own."

"I wish everyone thought like you." Jade took another hit and blew white smoke into the air. "What's your name anyway, Poindexter?" Hermione huffed before folding her arms over her chest.

"Hermione." She said firmly as the older girl dropped the smoke on the cement and smothered it with her foot. "Hermione Granger."

"Well, I'm sure you already know my name since you're hanging out with Weasel's younger sister." The dark haired girl smirked before extending her open hand towards Hermione. "But for formality's sake, I'm Jade McHale."

"You know, you're not as vicious as everyone makes you out to be." Hermione looked into blue eyes that softened slightly before closing and Jade shook her head after shaking the other girl's hand.

"Don't go around telling people that." She said before releasing Hermione's hand and walking past her towards the school as the bell rang. "Just because I'm not hostile towards you doesn't mean I won't beat the shit out of the next person who crosses me." With that, Jade entered the school with Hermione standing outside and walked off without so much as a good-bye. The brunette shook her head before jogging into the school.

"Hey Hermione!" Ginny waved as spotted the older girl in the crowd of students. "Did you find what you were looking for?"

"I think I did."

x-x

The rest of the day dragged on for Jade as she was sitting in her sixth period class, history, which she was particularly advanced in since she lived through many of the historical events of America. She was bored to say the least as she stood up ten minutes before the class was over and walked out, ignoring her protesting teacher. As she made her way down the stairs to the exit, she spotted Ron walking with some of his football teammates.

"Well look who it is, guys." The boy sneered as they approached and Jade rolled her eyes. His friends were all Neanderthals that weren't academically inclined, so they played sports to motivate their studies and keep decent grades. "The bitch of Hogwarts High, what's new McHale?"

"Oh, just enjoying my acne free face and if I had testicles, I would be enjoying them not being the size of raisins." Jade mocked calmy as she made to walk past the boy. "What about you Roid Rage?" Ron growled as he launched forward and slammed the girl into the grey lockers behind her. "You're really not arguing the point, are you Ginger?"

"Fuck off," He hissed as his hands tightened around the collar of her jacket. "You think you're so tough and badass, but you're all talk." The bell rang and students began to flood the hallway. "I should show you who's in charge around here in front of everyone to prove you're nothing."

"You think you're in charge? Pathetic." Blue eyes were staring daggers at the red head as a circle of people formed around them.

"FIGHT!" Someone yelled and then it was as if a switch had been flipped. Ron hauled his fist back and slammed it into Jade's face. The girl staggered back under the force and when she regained her composure, she spat blood in Ron's face.

"Is that all you got, Ginger?" She jeered as she shoved him back and brought her knee into his stomach. "You'd think that those steroids would make you stronger, false advertising I guess." Ron stood and ran at her again as she dodged his punches and watched him get even more agitated. Finally, he grabbed her by the back of the head and threw her into the lockers again as her hands found his neck and Jade head butted him hard. Immediately, blood began to gush from Ron's nose as Jade punched him square in the jaw. They both staggered back and were breathing heavily as the older girl wiped the blood from her mouth and Ron babied his nose.

"Ron!" Blue eyes looked over to the crowd to see Ginny trying to get through, followed by a brunette. "What the hell?!"

"Jade?" Hermione looked at Jade and then down at her battered fists and bruised face. As Jade looked into brown eyes, she saw Ron charge at her again and sighed before lowering her hands. She closed her eyes right before his fist connected solidly with her other cheek and she fell back against the metal again, slamming her head against them hard before collapsing onto the ground. Blue eyes watched as Ginny ran forward and pulled her brother away as Hermione approached the dark haired girl sitting against the lockers with her eyes closed. "Oh my god, are you ok?" She whispered as the senior chuckled and looked up at the brunette with half opened eyes.

"You tell me?" Jade teased as she closed her eyes again and smirked. Hermione gasped as the bruises were finished forming and there was blood flowing from the corner of her mouth.

"God." Hermione whispered as she took the older girl's face in her hands gently and examined it. Suddenly, Ron grunted and pushed past his sister to charge back at Jade. The raven haired girl struggled to her feet as she saw the brunette turn in front of her and spread her arms out. Ron was in a rage and before he could slow his charge, his fist was headed right for Hermione's face. She closed her eyes and waited for the pain that never came. When brown eyes opened again, she saw a bruised hand holding the boy's fist and that's when she noticed Jade standing almost flush to her back. Hermione looked over her shoulder to see blue eyes almost burning with rage and she could've swore she heard a growl resound in the older girl's throat.

"Back the fuck off." She hissed as she pushed the boy's fist back and sent him stumbled towards the crowd. Jade stood up straight as Hermione turned slightly to look at the livid senior. "You almost hit her!"

"I was aiming for you, you crazy bitch!" Ron bellowed before turning his eyes to Hermione. "I'm really sorry, I wasn't trying to hit you." The brunette though, wasn't paying attention to Ron as she wrapped her arms around Jade's neck, which shocked the taller girl and the rest of the people around them.

"Thank you," Her voice was gentle and soft to the point where no one else heard it. "You didn't have to do that, but I'm glad that you did."

"Uh…y-you're welcome." Jade stammered quietly, still in shock. Hermione pulled away and couldn't help but giggle at the expression on Jade's face, regardless of the bruises and cuts. Suddenly, the blue eyed girl became very aware of the people watching and she cleared her throat as she took a step back from the shorter sophomore. "I uhm…I have to go." She turned to walk away before Hermione gently grabbed her arm.

"Oh no you don't." Hermione said firmly as she pulled the girl back which elicited gasps from several people around her, afraid that Jade was going to retaliate violently. "You need to see the nurse, come on, we're going to get you all bandaged up."

"But…"

"No buts," The shorter girl tugged her through the crowd that was in awe that the blue eyed girl who had just gone two rounds with a muscular football player, was now being led by the new girl as if she owned her. Jade just sighed and let the girl drag her towards the nurse's office. "I'll talk to you guys later." Hermione said as she passed Harry and Neville whose eyes were wide and their mouths slightly open.

"I hope you know you're ruining my reputation." Jade joked as they walked into the infirmary and she sat down on a cot. "Now everyone is going to think they can take a shot at me." The shorter girl laughed as the nurse came in and gasped at the damage done to the senior. Surprisingly, none of the teachers of staff of the school had caught the fight, which seemed odd, but no one was really prone to tell since Jade and Ron were known to have a short fuse. After a good fifteen minutes, the nurse had Jade all bandaged and told her she was free to go. Hermione was waiting outside since the older girl had been slammed against the lockers so many times, the nurse wanted to examine her back.

"All right?" Hermione asked as she stood up and looked at the blue eyed girl who seemed less than amused at the amount of gauze on her face.

"I don't really think this is necessary." Jade grumbled as Hermione smiled at they started walking the less crowded halls to the brunette's locker. "They're really not that bad to be honest."

"You're supposed to be the big bad wolf of this school," The brunette teased as she entered her combination and opened her locker to grab her books. "And you're complaining about some bandages, you're real scary." Jade just scowled at her before mumbling something about being bullied by the new girl. As they walked towards the main entrance, the brunette pulled out some car keys and walked across the parking lot to a silver sedan. "Do you need a ride home?"

"No," The dark haired girl answered as she looked over her shoulder to see Harry and Ginny approaching with Ron in tow. Her expression went from relaxed, to tense as Hermione looked over her shoulder to see her friends approaching. "Thanks, but I should be going." Without another word she turned and walked off towards the main street with her hands in her pockets. The sun had decided to come out which made for a more pleasant walk home even though the air was cold as Jade put more distance between her and the Weasleys. Hermione felt sad for a moment when she saw Jade walking off before Ginny came up with a stern look on her face.

"Was she bugging you?" The younger red head asked as her brown eyes narrowed and she seemed to be checking Hermione over to make sure she wasn't injured. "You don't look hurt."

"That's because I'm not." Hermione giggled as she opened the back door of her car and set her bag on the back seat. "She's not really that bad you know." Ron scoffed, which came out as a snort do to the bandage on his nose and he adjusted his bag over his shoulder.

"Says the girl who didn't get punched in the face." Harry nudged him in the side as Ron rolled his eyes. "I'll be in the car when you two are ready to go." He nodded at Hermione before walking off towards a blue, old fashioned car.

"Is he always like that?" The brunette asked as she turned her attention back to Harry and Ginny who just shrugged.

"He never used to be." Harry said quietly as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Ron and I used to be best friends until he started playing football, then it was like he became a different person and I'm pretty sure he's using steroids because of his temper this past year."

"Anyways," Ginny chimed in as she grabbed Harry's arm. "We have to go, but do you wanna hang out after school tomorrow?"

"Sure," The new girl smiled brightly at her friends before opening the driver's side door. "I'll meet you guys out here after class."

x-x

Jade sighed, she was less than half way home and had stopped at a park where she decided to lie on a bench and watch the clouds roll by. A cigarette hung loosely in her lips as she'd breath in and puff out a cloud of white smoke. She didn't really enjoy going to her home, it's not that it wasn't nice or accommodating, but it was empty. Her family was long since dead and Draco had a very strict father who wouldn't let him hang out with her outside of school. In the city where she was, she hadn't heard of anyone else like her which made living there all the more isolating and being a distance from the nearest forest made her anxious most days. Another heavy sigh as she closed her eyes and felt a large cloud block out the sun and a chill crept into her body. She thought about the fight, about Ron, and then Hermione popped into her mind as she opened her eyes and saw that the sun was beginning to set. Normally Jade didn't get close with anyone, even Malfoy was at a distance even though he knew her secret, but with Hermione something was different. She wanted to know the brunette, wanted to be around her and it was something the dark haired girl wasn't used to. Most of her life was spent alone and she usually wanted it that way, but ever since she laid eyes on the new girl, she wanted something different.

"It will never be different." She chided to herself as she closed her eyes once more and smothered the embers of her cigarette on the wooden bench. Jade had chosen to be alone ever since she had been cursed with this disease. She didn't want to be around others like her or join a pack, all she wanted was to live out her life as normal as possible, but when you're not human, it's hard to live a human life. The air got colder as the sun sank further below the horizon and suddenly she heard a car pull up on the street to her right.

"You know it's going to rain." Jade looked over to see the silver car with Hermione in the driver's seat. "Do you want a ride now?" A droplet of water hit Jade on the noise as she sat up slightly to look at the brunette. "Come on, you can't walk in the rain."

"You'd be surprised what I can do in the rain." The blue eyed girl argued as she sat up and slung her bag over her shoulder. "It's just water, Poindexter. You should know that it won't hurt me if you're so smart." As Jade stood up it started to pour and she curse the weather's horrible timing, but she kept walking.

"Jade, wait!" It was hard to hear her voice over the pounding of the rain on the sidewalk, but suddenly she heard a car door slam and a hand grab hers. "Let me give you a ride, consider it pay back for helping me today." Blue eyes looked down into warm brown orbs and a drenched Hermione. "Please?"

"You're getting soaked." Jade argued as she whipped her back pack off her shoulder and held it over the brunette's head. "You don't need to pay me back, Granger. Then people would think that I liked you enough to not ignore you." A look of despair filled Hermione's eyes as she looked down at the ground.

"You don't like me?" Her voice was small and barely audible above the sound of rain, but it was clear in Jade's ears, as was the sound of sorrow in her voice.

"Th-that's not what I meant." The taller girl retorted as she shook her head and sighed. She didn't mean to hurt the girl's feelings, she just wanted her to understand she didn't need her help. "All right, fine. I'll let you give me a ride." She groaned as Hermione's face lit up and she smiled brightly at the blue eyed girl before dragging her to her parked car. Jade sighed and shook her head as she got into the passenger's seat while Hermione cranked up the heat.

"Do you mind if we stop at my house first so I can get a jacket?" Hermione asked as she threw the car in drive and turned down a side street. "I just don't want to sit in wet clothes for very long."

"That's fine." The senior said quietly as she looked out the window at the rain and then back at the brunette who was drenched from head to toe. It only took them a couple minutes since Hermione's parents had wanted a house close to town and the school. The ride was silent and when they pulled into the driveway of a two story, Victorian style house, Hermione put the car in park and shut it off.

"You can come in," She said as she opened the door and then got her bag from the back seat. "My parents are gone until the next weekend, so you don't have to worry about any awkward small talk with them." Jade's eyes widened a little as she got out of the car and they jogged to the front door. The inside of the house was beautiful to say the least, very homey and simple with the color scheme being dark blue and white. "I'll get you a towel, just come up stairs with me for a sec."

"Do your parents leave you home alone for two weeks often?" Jade asked as she kicked off her sneakers before following the brunette up the white carpeted stairs that led to a small landing and a hall way that split on either side. "This is a pretty big house to leave you alone in. Don't they worry about you?"

"All the time." Hermione answered as she disappeared into the second door on the right which Jade assumed was the bathroom. She reappeared a second later with a light green fluffy towel and handed it to the taller girl. "But they know I'm responsible and I like school, so they don't have to worry about me skipping."

"Would they worry if they knew you brought a ruffian into their home without their permission?" The blue eyed girl started towel drying her hair as Hermione giggled and went into the first door in the hall way and motioned for Jade to follow.

"You're not a ruffian." The brunette smiled as Jade entered her room and slipped the senior's jacket off her shoulders, followed by her shirt.

"Hey!" The dark haired girl argued trying to control her blush as she wrapped the towel tight around her torso. "What the hell?"

"You need dry clothes." Hermione quickly opened a drawer and pulled out a plain white t-shirt that seemed a bit too big for her petite frame. "You can wear this for right now. Take off your pants too so I can put them in the dryer."

"You're moving a little fast aren't you?" Jade teased as she undid her belt after wrapping the towel firmly around her waist and ripping her wet jeans from her legs. Hermione blushed slightly as the jeans fell from the older girl's waist and pooled at her feet. "Usually I like to at least go on a date before I let someone get my pants off." A playful smirk tugged at Jade's lips as she took a step closer to Hermione and placed her hands on her hips. The brunette went to protest when warm hands found the skin on f her waist and began to move her shirt up. "Quid pro quo, Granger." Jade whispered as she leaned down and Hermione felt her breath on her ear. "You did me, so now it's my turn." The younger girl swallowed hard as she felt Jade's hands ghost her sides and she raised her arms as the damp shirt peeled from her skin until she was standing in just her red bra. A new wave of heat spread through her cheeks as she looked down at the tan carpet in her room. Jade chuckled before removing the towel from around her waist and wrapping it around the brunette's shoulders. "I think we're even now." There was a flirtatious lilt in the senior's voice as she stepped back and sat on her host's bed and luckily for her, the shirt she was wearing fell to the middle of her thighs.

"Quite…uhm." The younger girl stuttered as she bent down and scooped up the wet clothes. "I'll just go throw these in the dryer real quick and when I come back I'll get you some shorts to wear…or something. Be right back." Jade just nodded as she began to look around Hermione's room and the shorter girl walked briskly down the stairs and into the laundry room as her heart began to pound in her chest. That small act of intimacy had set her blood on fire as she relished in the after math of Jade's proximity. After throwing the clothes in the dryer, she took a few deep breaths before walking out and back up the stairs to her room. Jade was standing in front of her vanity looking at a framed picture of Hermione and her parents. "Those are my parents."

"I figured that much, Poindexter." Hermione took the teasing in stride as she walked over and looked at the photo in the taller girl's hands. "You look a lot like your mom, what do they do anyways?"

"They're both dentists." The other girl answered as she looked at her parents and her seven year old self in front of Big Ben in London. "They're really good at their professions and that's why they're gone a lot, people always want them to speak at conferences and such."

"It must be nice," Jade's voice was barely a whisper as a shadow clouded her blue eyes. "Having a family I mean."

"Don't you have a family?" The older girl tensed slightly and set the frame back down before walking over to sit on the bed once more.

"No." The answer was short and didn't leave much room to delve deeper. "I've been on my own for a while now." Hermione wanted to ask how and why, but the look on the black haired girl's face said not to bring it up, so she left it alone.

"I'm sorry to hear that." Hermione added as she sat down next to Jade and noticed the scars on her arms and legs. "I can't imagine losing my parents. Were you close with yours?"

"Not really." Blue eyes hazed over again as she laid back on the plush full size bed and sighed. "They died a long time ago, I can barely remember." She chuckled a little before putting her hands behind her head and staring up at the white ceiling fan in Hermione's room. "Are you close to your parents?"

"I try to be." The brunette breathed as she leaned back on her hands to look down at the senior. "With them being gone so often it's hard sometimes, but when they're home we spend a lot of time together." Jade nodded without saying anything as she tried to remember her parents. She remembered what they looked like for sure, but it was getting harder and harder to remember their little quirks and mannerisms as the decades passed while she stayed the same. "Do you miss your parents?"

"It's hard to when it happened so long ago." In reality, Jade's parents had died the same night she had been cursed, but being one hundred and twenty-six years old made your mind foggy. "I miss the companionship most mainly, I had a younger brother once."

"Did he pass too?"

"No," Jade's eyes narrowed when they opened as if she were trying really hard what happened so far back. "He betrayed me, he's the one that killed my parents and left me for dead." Hermione gasped as she lied down on her side next to the dark haired girl and suddenly noticed how close they were to where she could feel the heat resonating from Jade.

"That's horrible, I'm so sorry, Jade." The sincerity in Hermione's voice was suffocating as Jade snapped back to present day and sat up with a jolt when she noticed how close the brunette was to her. It was becoming too much, she had been alone for so long that this one girl was so close in proximity it was overwhelming. Her senses were filled with her scent, her image, and her voice.

"I-I should really be going." The older girl said as she stood up and remembered she wasn't wearing anything but an oversized shirt and her underwear. She groaned and let her head fall back as she closed her eyes.

"You're not used to talking to people much, are you?" The question was simple, not mocking or harmful, but Jade still felt the sting of realization as she nodded silently. She really wasn't used to people, specifically spilling her guts to a stranger who didn't know more than she was supposed to be eighteen and in high school. Hermione stood then and gently wrapped her arms around Jade's shoulders before sighing quietly and resting her head at the base of her neck. Every muscle in the raven haired girl's body contracted at the touch, but she didn't move. She didn't want to disturb the embrace, but this was something she was not accustomed too because she had never really let anyone be close to her. "You're not used to hugs either, huh?" Hermione teased gently as she felt the girl in her arms began to relax slightly.

"Not really." Jade was confused as to why her voice came out as a raspy whisper and why she couldn't break the hold the shorter girl had on her. It was as if all her senses became clouded whenever Hermione was around and the lone wolf demeanor was pushed away by the warmth she felt in her presence. It was strange really, she had never experienced this feeling with anyone before in all her years of being alive and she had been in love at one point when she was young. This was a protective instinct and Jade sighed heavily as she turned in Hermione's arms and held the girl's head against the curve of her neck. "I think I could get used to this though."

At one point, both girls found themselves downstairs in the living room watching television after chatting and snacking on some food in the fridge. Hermione had eventually found Jade a pair of gym shorts and blue eyes looked down at the girl curled up next to her on the couch as the screen showed some sort of nature show on the ocean. She noticed the brunette's eyes drooping slightly as the street lights turned on outside of the house. There was a gentle weight on her shoulder as blue eyes glanced down again to see the younger girl's head resting on her shoulder and her body began to warm where the brunette rested.

"You're a strange girl." Jade whispered as she tried to adjust her body so she was leaning back farther into the lush cushions. "I wonder what made you want to approach me." Suddenly the slumbering brunette stirred and rubbed her face against the older girl's shoulder which caused said girl to blush slightly. Brown eyes fluttered open and Hermione took a moment to regain her senses in the dark before noticing she was rested against the senior. A slight blush dusted her cheeks as she sat up and cleared her throat.

"S-sorry." Hermione breathed as Jade smirked and straightened up. "How long was I asleep?"

"Not long," The dark haired girl answered as she stretched her arms above her head. "Maybe ten minutes." Blue eyes looked up at the large wall clock to her right and sighed as she stood and stretched again. "I should really be going though, it's getting late and I'm sure you'd like to get to bed. I'll just go change my clothes and…" A gentle hand grasped her arm before she could turn towards the laundry room and Jade looked down to see the younger girl standing next to her.

"Could you…do me a favor?" The sophomore asked timidly as Jade turned to look at her with her eyebrows raised slightly. "Will you stay with me tonight? I uhm…I don't want to stay here alone and I know we've only just met, but…well…I feel, safe with you here." Hermione was blushing furiously as she fiddled with the hem of her shirt and bit her bottom lip. "I mean…you don't have to, but…"

"I guess I could stay." The older student said as she rubbed the back of her neck and smirked. Jade walked over to her back pack by the door and pulled out her cell phone. "I'll just sleep on the couch?"

"Of course not!" The brunette giggled as she tugged the girl up the stairs after locking the front door. Jade smiled again as she let the shorter girl drag her around and into Hermione's bedroom once more. "You can sleep in here with me, the bed is more than big enough for both of us." Jade looked down at the ground nervously as she felt her face get a little hot while Hermione pulled the comforter back and slipped her legs under the sheet. "Will you get the light, please?" The senior sighed and nodded before flipping the light switch. She slipped under the covers on the bed and laid on her back to stair up at the ceiling fan.

"You're strange, Hermione Granger." She said softly as she folded her hands behind her head. "Anyone else in the school would be scared I'm going to murder them in their sleep, but not you." The younger girl chuckled as she rolled on her side to look at Jade who had a small grin on her face. The light of the moon was shining through Hermione's window as the clouds moved away and the light reflected in bright blue eyes.

"People just don't see you how I do." The young girl answered quietly as cerulean orbs glanced at her. "I don't know what you've done in the past to get so many people to be afraid of you, but I guess none of them were brave enough to get to know you better."

"You don't know what I've done." Jade said seriously as she closed her eyes and sighed before she felt a warmth against her right side. She opened one eye to see Hermione snugged against her as a wave of heat spread on her face.

"And you don't need to tell me." Hermione whispered as she rested her head on Jade's shoulder. "I can't explain it, but I just want to be near you. Is that bad?" Jade smirked as she relaxed and slipped her arm around the brunette's shoulders.

"As long as you don't mind people isolating you for being around me." The younger girl giggled quietly as she closed her eyes and exhaled loudly.

"I don't."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Ignition

Jade awoke the next morning as the sun began to rise and shine through the window in Hermione's room. She looked to her right to see the brunette snuggled up against her arm and sleeping soundly. The older girl sighed as she grabbed her cell phone from the bed side table to check the time.

"Six fourteen." The blue eyed girl grumbled as she yawned and stretched slowly, trying not to disturb the girl sleeping next to her. "Granger, hey, Granger wake up." The brunette stirred slightly as she rolled away from Jade onto her back and her eyes fluttered open. She yawned and stretched her arms over her head, making a quiet squeaking noise.

"What time is it?"

"A quarter after six." Jade answered as she sat up and rubbed the back of her neck. "We should probably get up and get ready for school." Hermione groaned as she swung her legs over the side of her bed and ran her hand through her disheveled hair. "I'll leave in a bit and walk to school so you can get ready." Brown eyes looked at her like she was crazy as she shook her head.

"What are you talking about?" Hermione said gently as she handed the taller girl a clean, blue shirt that was a little tight on her and smiled. "I'll drive you."

"Hermione, you don't have to I'm very capable of walking." The senior argued as she pulled her black, beaten leather jacket back over her shoulders and went to grab her bag. "It's not that I don't appreciate it, but I don't want people getting the wrong idea."

"What do you mean?" Jade sighed heavily as she took a step towards the girl who had pulled her jeans on while Jade was putting on the shirt.

"People don't associate with me." She said calmly as she looked into brown eyes. "You're new and people like you, if you start hanging out with me then I doubt you'll make many friends. So if they see you drive me to school, they might think I…well, they might think you're like me."

"What's so bad about that?" The senior sighed again, this girl just couldn't see the bad in her for some reason. "I don't care what people think Jade, I thought I made that clear last night." Jade looked up as she let her head fall back and Hermione took the chance to change her shirt and bra while the older girl was staring up at the ceiling. "Besides, if people don't want to be friends with me just because I'm friends with you, then I don't want to be their friend."

"So we're friends now, huh?"

"Well, I thought so." Hermione smiled warmly at the girl who finally made eye contact again. "I wouldn't really let you spend the night if I thought you weren't."

"Oh, I thought you were trying to seduce me." The brunette blushed at the words as she turned quickly and headed out of her room. Jade chuckled as she followed her down to the kitchen.

"If I was trying to seduce you," The sophomore said finally as she opened the fridge and pulled out a half gallon of milk. "You would know." A smirk spread across the taller girl's lips as she sat down at the island in the kitchen as Hermione pulled out a couple bowls and spoons before setting a few boxes of cereal down. "And honestly, I don't think it'd be that hard."

"Are you implying that I'm 'easy'?" Jade smirked as she took a step closer to the short girl and Hermione felt her heart skip a beat at the proximity of the taller girl behind her while she was reaching for a glass. She swallowed hard as the senior pinned her by putting both hands on the counter in front of her and the brunette took a deep breath to calm her racing heart. "Because if anyone here is going to be seducing anyone, I'm pretty sure it'd be me." This girl was playing with Hermione as she paused while reaching for the glass and Jade chuckled before reaching up herself which caused her to press against the brunette's back slightly. The shorter girl released a small gasp at the pressure and then it was gone as the blue eyed girl set the glass on the counter for her.

"Th-thanks." The shorter girl stuttered as she grabbed the glass and filled it with water as Jade grabbed an apple from a bowl on the counter with a smirk on her face. The rest of the morning went by routinely for Hermione as they ate breakfast and while she was in the downstairs bathroom doing her hair, Jade was sitting on the couch in the living room looking at the various pictures of Hermione and her parents. They looked happy in all the pictures and she found a picture of the brunette when she was a small child on her father's shoulders. A horrible wave of nostalgia washed over the raven haired girl as her eyes clouded over and she set the picture back down as the younger girl walked into the living room. "Ready to go?" Hermione noticed the looked on Jade's face, but thought it better to keep silent as she nodded and slung her bag over her shoulders.

x-x

Jade sighed heavily as she sat in her third period class, calculus, something she never really caught on to, but she did well nonetheless. Her teacher was drawling on and on and soon the senior found herself staring out the window at the grey sky that had patches of sunlight that were leaking through. After what seemed like an eternity, the bell finally rang and the blue eyed girl waltzed out into the hall towards the cafeteria. This time, she didn't even bother to see how crowded the eatery was, she just turned towards the courtyard doors and pulled out her cigarettes. The air was still sharp with winter on its breeze as she clicked her lighter a few times before lighting up her cigarette.

"Don't you know how bad smoking is for your health?" Jade whipped around to see a man standing in the middle of the courtyard in a dark carhart coat and shaggy brown hair. "Good to see you, Jade."

"Aiden." The blue eyed girl said calmly as she took a drag from the cigarette. The man's grey eyes narrowed slightly as he walked lazily towards her with his hands in his pockets. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you, to be completely honest."

"If you want to be 'completely honest'," Jade hissed as she eyed the man carefully as a smirk spread across his thin lips. "Why don't you tell me why you're looking for me."

"Your brother is searching for you." The girl tensed as the words registered in her mind and the cigarette dropped from her lips. "And since I found you, I reckon he's very close." Jade growled as she clenched her fists and felt her adrenaline start to course through her veins. "Now, now, you wouldn't want to wolf out in your little school now would you? Show everyone what kind of monster you really are." Aiden's eyes glowed yellow as he smirked and Jade had to fight back the urge to rip his head from his shoulders.

"Are you going to tell him where I am?" She hissed as she straightened up slightly and tried to calm herself down. "You always were quite the betrayer if I remember correctly." Aiden shrugged and ran a hand through his brown hair.

"I play to my advantage." He said with a smug smile. "And I haven't decided if I am going to tell Jaxyn where you are or not, but one thing is for sure, you should sever your ties with that mortal you were with. She'll die for sure if she gets caught between your family issues." Jade bristled as she let a roar escape her lungs and she felt her teeth get sharp.

"You leave Hermione out of this." Her voice was gravelly, caught between a growl and a shout. "She has nothing to do with anything." Aiden started laughing at Jade's show of emotion as he shoved his hands back in his pockets and shook his head slowly.

"Look at you, getting attached to a mortal." Yellow eyes looked up through strands of brown hair as he sighed heavily. "It's unlike you to get so attached to someone after all these years of solitude. Maybe you're becoming more of a dog than a wolf." Suddenly the bell rang shrilly as Jade winced from the harsh noise and looked towards the school to see students flooding the hall ways. "If I were you, I'd keep an eye on that human." Jade went to respond, but when she turned back to where Aiden once stood, he was gone without a trace of him ever being there except his fading scent on the cold breeze. The raven haired girl snarled as she picked up her messenger bag and walked back into the school. This wasn't good, Jaxyn was looking for her and she had been on the run for the past forty years trying to avoid him. She dodged through the mass of students to the entrance of the school and pushed the doors open roughly. Jade had been so distracted that she hadn't noticed the brunette that had been following her since she re-entered the school.

"Jade!" Hermione called as she watched the raven haired girl walk towards the parking lot. "Wait! School isn't over yet!" Jade chuckled as she froze and waited for the brunette to catch up.

"I know that, Granger." She answered as she looked over her shoulder and saw the confusion in Hermione's brown eyes. "Just because school isn't over, doesn't mean that I can't leave whenever I want." The brunette looked shyly at her before rubbing the back of her neck.

"Well, why are you leaving so early?" The younger girl asked quietly as she took a step closer to the older girl. "It's barely half way through the day." The concern in Hermione's eyes was smothering Jade even though they were out in the open and air was easily filling her lungs as she inhaled deeply.

"I…I'm just not feeling today, okay?" Jade's voice was annoyed and it hurt the girl to hear that tone used towards her. "I just need to leave." Hermione nodded as she averted her gaze to the ground and rubbed her arm absentmindedly. "Granger, please, don't act like I just killed your puppy."

"I'm sorry." The brunette breathed as she gave the girl a small, sad smile that tore at Jade's heart more than she thought it should. "It's really none of my business. I was just…just worried about you, you looked really upset. I thought maybe you had another fight with Ron, or something." Jade sighed heavily, she didn't want Hermione to be upset or hurt, but she wasn't used to having someone care about her or notice anything she did during the day. It was new and the fact that Hermione had such power over her made the girl nervous.

"Granger…just…I'm sorry, I didn't mean…" She exhaled heavily with a groan and ran her hand through her hair as a breeze blew gently and she saw Hermione shiver. Jade set her bag down before removing her jacket and draped it over the shorter girl's shoulders. Brown eyes looked up with surprise as her eyebrows raised slightly. "You'll catch your death out here without a jacket." Hermione blushed as Jade's hands rested on her shoulders and she took in the intoxicating, subtle forest scent of Jade. "I didn't mean to make you upset, I just…I'm not, I'm not used to people…caring. So, I'm sorry, but I can't stay at school today. I have this ominous feeling and whenever I get those feelings something bad usually happens to me."

"What do you mean?" Hermione moved forward and placed her hands on Jade's upper arms as if to hold her in place. "Is something wrong? Are you in some kind of trouble?"

"Sort of," Jade answered honestly as she looked away and her blue eyes narrowed in thought. "But at the same time, no. I just don't want anyone around in case I am in trouble, and that means you, ok? I'd feel horrible if something happened to you because you were hanging around me, I'm bad news." The taller girl sighed again as she closed her eyes and thought of the people she'd lost over the years because she had befriended them. She didn't want that fate to befall Hermione.

"I can take care of myself." The girl said defiantly as she stepped closer and rested her head on Jade's shoulder, feeling the raven haired senior to tense. "And I know, I know if you were around you'd protect me. I know you would….right?" Jade's heart was beating erratically at the contact from the brunette and she swallowed hard, trying desperately to find her voice.

"Y-yes." Her voice was raspy and she cursed herself for coming off as nervous around the young brunette. "Of course I would."

"Then please," Hermione pulled away and brown eyes were determined to convey her feelings as they locked with azure orbs. "Please, stay for the rest of the day, if anything, to just let me know you're ok. Then, then you can come back home with me, ok? I don't want you being by yourself if you're having this weird feeling." Jade tried to look away, tried to ignore the feeling of warmth creeping into her stomach and up into her chest as those soft brown eyes pleaded with her. Why was she so weak to this girl? She'd had friends in the past, lovers even, but nothing felt like how this new girl made her feel. All she wanted was to scoop the girl up in her arms and take her to the safest place she could think of, but that wasn't possible. Hermione had a life, friends and a future that Jade couldn't destroy. Finally, Jade exhaled again and let her head slump forward before nodding.

"All right," She whispered softly as Hermione trailed her hands up from her elbows to her shoulders. "I'll stay for today, but if anything happens, I…" Hermione silenced her with two fingers pressing gently against Jade's lips and the blue eyed girl gasped at the contact.

"It'll be ok." The sophomore said soothingly as Jade's body relaxed and she had to restrain herself from sighing against Hermione's fingertips. "We'll be ok. Come on, let's get back inside before we miss another class." Jade smirked as the brunette moved her fingers away slowly and trailed them down her arm to her hand. Their fingers laced together perfectly and Jade felt a warmth spreading from her hand as she allowed Hermione to tug her back into the school.

**_I hope you're right, Hermione. _**Jade thought to herself as she looked over her shoulder before the door could close to see dark clouds rolling in from the south, threatening to blot out the scarce sunlight that was shining. This was a bad omen to her, but just an impending storm for others. As they walked up the stairs to Hermione's Biology class, their hands disconnected and Jade watched the brunette closely as she walked into her classroom with a wave over her shoulder.

"You'll wait for me after school, right?" The brunette asked before the door closed completely and Jade answered her with a mere nod before offering a reassuring smile. "I'll see you later then." Jade was planning on going to her calculus class…but now, what was the point? She was already ten minutes late and so instead, she headed to her next classroom, Advanced Literature, and waited in the hallway until the bell rang. Students flooded the halls and she stood to wait for the previous class to empty from the room.

x-x

Hermione was waiting by her locker for Jade to show up. The bell had just rang, signaling the end of the day, and now with all her books she needed for tonight's homework she waited to see the familiar ink black hair and blue eyes. Instead, she saw the green eyes of Harry Potter and caramel colored orbs of Ginny Weasley.

"Hey, Hermione!" Ginny called with a large smile on her face. "Are you ready to hang out with us?" In all honesty, the brunette had forgotten all about it and a distraught look crossed her face before her palm found her forehead as Ginny eyed Jade's jacket.

"I'm sorry, guys." She exclaimed as Ginny giggled and Harry smirked at her. "I totally forgot! I…actually told Jade I would hang out with her after school." The faces on both her friend's dropped as their eyes got wide and her jaws went slack.

"Jade McHale?" Harry reiterated as if Hermione were joking. "You're serious?"

"Well, yes." The brunette admitted timidly as she slung her bag over her shoulder. Ginny gave her a stern look as she folded her arms over her chest.

"What is it with you and Jade?" She asked finally as she leaned forward and Hermione instinctively moved back against the lockers. "Is she threatening you? Black mailing you?" Ginny gasped slightly and pulled back. "Are you doing her homework?" Hermione couldn't contain her laughter as she doubled over and the two teens watched with some confusion.

"No, she hasn't done any of those things." Hermione said finally as she caught her breath and cleared her throat. "She's really not that bad guys, she's just…misunderstood."

"This isn't an after school special, Hermione." The red headed girl said firmly as the halls around her began to empty and soon Ron was trudging towards them. "Jade McHale is **known **to be extremely dangerous around here. She's not some charity project you can take on and fix, trust me, people have tried and the outcome is all the same. Jade either pulverizes them, or she kills them with silence. She doesn't want friends and honestly, I don't think she deserves them." Hermione's patience was wearing thin with her friend as she took a deep breath to calm her nerves.

"You don't know her, Gin." She argued as her dark brown eyes narrowed at the red head. "She's really not that bad and I don't think she is as horrible as you guys make her out to be." Ginny sighed as Harry greeted Ron.

"Who are you guys talking about?" The taller boy asked as he adjusted the back pack on his shoulders. "Not me I hope."

"Hermione forgot she was hanging out with us and said she'd hang out with Jade." Harry filled him in as Hermione rubbed her forehead in frustration. She knew Jade wouldn't be too upset if she cancelled, but Hermione had made such a big deal about it earlier she felt guilty for even considering blowing the older girl off. "So she's trying to tell us how Jade isn't as bad as we think she is."

"I'm pretty sure my jaw and nose are proof that she is." Ron added as he pointed at his face which was a very dark shade of purple and his eye socket was still a little swollen. "Honestly, Hermione, she's not worth the effort you're putting in to get to know her, she's a psycho bitch."

"I assume you're talking about me." Three heads whipped around to see Jade standing behind them, grey flannel unbuttoned, exposing her black tank top and hands shoved her in her black, straight fit jean's pockets. Unlike Ron's face, her face was almost flawless except for the faded greenish blue bruise on her jaw. Hermione was the only one who smiled at her as the other's had looks of pure terror on their faces. "Hello, Granger." A small smirk graced the senior's lips as she nodded at the brunette.

"Hey, Jade." Hermione smiled as she felt a heat burning her cheeks that she tried to shake off as she cleared her throat. "Uhm…Jade, I…well, I forgot I said I'd hang out with Harry, Ron, and Ginny today, so…if you don't mind…" Jade sighed and waved her hand dismissively, trying to hide the disappointment that was slowly filling her throat.

"Don't worry about it, Granger," She said calmly as her blue eyes locked with Hermione's brown orbs. "I'll head home, you can just call me when you're done hanging out with these bozos and…"

"Wait!" The brunette interjected, which caused the others, including Jade, to look at her in shock. "That's…that's not what I was going to say. What I wanted to ask was, if you'd mind coming over and hanging out with us at my house." All four of the teens standing in front of her gaped as if she was asking them to dance around in their underwear while reciting Shakespeare. "I know you all don't get on, but…I don't want to disappoint any of you."

"Honestly," Ginny said as she glanced over at Jade. "Since you made plans with us first, I think we should take priority." Jade chuckled, which seemed to make the fiery red head even more irritated as Ron clenched his jaw.

"They're right, Granger." Jade said finally as she folded her hands behind her head and yawned. "You made plans with them first, so you should hang out with them. Besides, I can't promise I won't try and beat some sense into Ginger, here." Ron growled as he spun around and Jade smirked, proud she was able to get a rise out of him.

"No!" The brunette exclaimed as she stepped between them. "Jade, I want you there. I told you earlier, I want to make sure you're going to be ok. So you're coming!" Jade stared wide eyed at the girl as her other friends looked on with horror, afraid the senior was going to hurt the brunette physically. Instead, the blue eyed girl just sighed before running hand through her hair and shook her head.

"I suppose, if you insist." It wasn't like Jade to give into what anyone ordered her to do, but this was Hermione and Jade wanted to make her happy for some odd reason. "I'll tag along, but I'm not going to sing around a campfire and talk about my feelings, got it?" Hermione nodded with a smile as she lunged forward and wrapped her arms around Jade's neck. Jade froze momentarily and stared awkwardly at the others before sighing and wrapping an arm around Hermione's waist. Harry, Ron, and Ginny all stared on with mouths hanging open. The outcast of their school, the violent, angry senior was reduced to submissive, gentle teenager by Hermione of all people.

"It means a lot to me." Hermione whispered with a smile as she pulled away and Jade rolled her eyes and nodded. She turned back to her other friends, who were still gawking, and giggled at the expressions on their faces. "I told you, she's not that bad."

x-x

Two hours later, Jade found herself sitting in Hermione's living room in a very awkward silence with Ginny, Harry, and Ron, who were all staring at her as if she had the plague. The senior sighed as she leaned back into the love seat and waited for Hermione to return with drinks. Jade, of course, had offered to help, along with Harry, but Hermione insisted they all stay and get to know each other. Not the brightest idea the brunette had had. No one was talking and not from a lack of conversation. The three younger teens were talking cheerily amongst themselves and Jade just didn't see the need to join in the conversation, so she mainly found herself on her phone randomly texting Draco. He thought the whole situation was hilarious and Jade had threatened to drag him over there if he kept taunting her.

"So, McHale," Ron said finally as he turned slightly from his seat on the over-sized couch to the right. "Killed anyone lately." Normally Jade would've either ignored this, or punched him in his smug, smiling face, but since she was in Hermione's house, she restrained herself.

"Not anyone you know, Weasel." She answered nonchalantly as she examined her finger nails and saw the boy flinch slightly at her answer. "Of course, if you'd like, I can add you to the list." Her blue eyes flicked up at him and he swallowed hard before scowling and turning away from her. She chuckled as Hermione reentered the room with a few cans of soda and two glasses of water.

"Glad to see no one has killed each other." She chimed as she set the drinks down and found her spot next to Jade.

"Yet." Jade whispered into her glass as she took a drink from her water and that reward her with an elbow to the ribs from Hermione, causing her choke on her water. "What? I was just joking." She glanced over at Ron again and a smirk crossed her lips along with a lazy shrug. "Maybe."

"Jade," Hermione's voice was reprimanding as she raised an eyebrow at the blue eyed senior. "Please, be nice." Blue eyes rolled as she slumped back into the chair and grumbled something about Ron being too sensitive. Finally, after the younger teens had talked for a few moments about anything and everything, they decided on watching a movie.

"What sort of movie should we watch?" The brunette asked as she skimmed through the selections on Netflicks. "I've seem most of the romantic comedies."

"How about a horror flick?" Harry suggested as him and Ron got mischievous grins on their faces. "I haven't seen a good scary movie in ages."

"I'm game for that." Ginny added with a smile as she moved closer to Harry. At that moment, Ron stood and walked over to the sofa Jade and Hermione were sharing before sitting down on the other side of the brunette. He took the remote from her hand and began skimming through the movies under the 'Horror' genre before picking one about werewolves.

**_How ironic. _**Jade thought as she rolled her eyes and pulled the lever on the side of the couch to recline her seat. She glanced over to see Harry and Ginny getting comfortable together as the movie started. The opening scene was very predictable. A full moon shining ominously through the trees as an eerie howl broke the silence. **_This is so ridiculous. _**Suddenly she watched out of the corner of her eyes as Ron raised his arm and nonchalantly rested it over Hermione's shoulders. Something in Jade ignited as she bit back a growl and tried to stop herself from showing her teeth towards the red head. As the movie continued, there were a few scenes of people being mangled and guts being ripped open that caused Hermione to move closer to Jade, to her the blue eyed girl's surprise. A loud shriek echoed in the living room from the movie as the brunette jumped and suddenly buried her face in Jade's neck. Her skin caught fire as she felt smooth skin against her jugular, but smirked as she noticed Ron's scowl as his arm was left without any company. In return, Jade wrapped her right arm around the younger girl's shoulder and Hermione seemed to try and bury herself deeper. The movie went on like this for a while, gruesome killings and imagines of horribly created half man, half wolf creatures stalking unsuspecting campers in the woods. All in all, the movie was boring for Jade, until a particular scene in the werewolf's point of view caught her eyes. The monster was breathing heavily, stalking a dark haired woman who had been separated from her friends and the fear on the woman's face stirred something in Jade's memories. Her blue eyes widened and her breathing got heavier as the wolf advanced and the woman let out a blood curdling scream. Jade closed her eyes and images of her past began to play on the backs of her eyelids. Blood, lifeless eyes staring up at her as she ripped throats with her strong jaws. Snapping people's necks with her bare hands, it became too much and soon she felt pressure on her face and her eyes snapped open to see concerned brown eyes.

"Are you ok?" Hermione asked quietly. Jade looked around, the movie was still playing, but the others didn't seem to notice her little freak out. Her breathing was still uneven as she swallowed and nodded until the soft caress of Hermione's hands brought her back to reality. "Is it too scary for you?" What a silly question, but to the brunette, it must've seem like she was freaking out because of the blood and gore on the movie, not the blood and violence of her past. Ironically, it wasn't too scary, it was just too real.

"I'm fine." The senior whispered back as she took in a steady breath, just to let it out again slowly. "I just…I guess it seemed more realistic than I expected." She gave the brunette a reassuring, though small, smile and Hermione nodded before settling back down to rest her head on Jade's shoulder. It was odd how comforting being around the sophomore had become for the raven haired girl and she was actually glad Hermione had been there to pull her out of her flash back. More often than none, these memories would haunt the blue eyed girl and she'd find herself hyperventilating in the fetal position in her bed. As Jade tightened her hold on the brunette's shoulders, Ron scowled again and grunted before crossing his arms over his chest and slouching down into the cushions. Finally, the movie ended with the werewolves being killed with silver bullets, of course, and everyone sat back up and stretched loudly.

"Well, that was scarier than I thought it would be." Ginny said with an amused lilt in her voice. "And I like scary movies." Harry smiled at her before rubbing his dead arm she had been clutching to for the past hour and ninety minutes.

"I thought it was really fake." Ron added, his tone was sour and Jade only assumed this was because Hermione had chosen her instead of him to cling to. "I mean, come on, those werewolves were obviously men just dressed in a suit with fake hair glued to their bodies. Seriously, if werewolves do exist, you think they'd look scrawny and sickly like that?" Jade chuckled as the four younger teenagers started a debate on what werewolves would look like if they were real.

**_If only they knew. _**She thought with a sigh as Hermione sat up and out of her hold to stretch her arms with a drawn out yawn. Her brown eyes glanced up at the clock and she groaned. It was already past ten and they had school tomorrow.

"Well, I suppose we should be heading out." The red headed Weasley girl said as she rose and pulled Harry up with her. "Since we have to be up early for school and what not, thanks for having us over Hermione." She then glanced over at Jade who was sitting lazily with her hand behind her head. "And erm…thanks for not punching my brother, I guess?"

"Uh…you're welcome?" Jade didn't really know how to respond. She knew it was forced niceties, for Hermione's sake, but she didn't want to be completely rude. "Thanks for not glaring at me all night?" Ginny cracked a tiny smile and nodded as she motioned for her brother to get up off the couch. Ron, of course, reluctantly rose as he glanced back down at Hermione and then at Jade. Hermione rose to walk them all to the door and the blue eyed girl eyed her closely as Ginny opened the door to leave.

"Hey, uhm…listen," Her ears picked up Ron's hushed tone as she closed her eyes and tried to focus. "I know you're new and all, but I was erm, I was wondering if maybe you wanted to go out with me sometime? Y'know…I can show you around town and maybe we can go to dinner?" Jade didn't know why her muscles all decided to tense at one time, but she was glad no one else was in the room as a low growl reverberated in her throat. There was a long pause before Hermione responded.

"I'm…I'm really sorry, but I sort of like someone else." The brunette answered as she averted her gaze to the ground. "I mean, I like you as a friend and you showing me around would be great, but I don't want you to get the wrong idea if we were to go to dinner or something."

"O-oh…hey, that's ok, I understand." Jade could feel the tension between them now and the shakiness in Ron's voice said he wasn't ok, but he had to be the tough guy. "Maybe we can all show you around sometime, make a group thing out of it maybe?"

"That sounds great," Hermione answered cheerily. "Thanks for understanding, Ron." He mumbled a 'you're welcome' before exiting the house and Hermione shut the door softly after him.

"So," The senior teased as the sophomore re-entered the living room. "You've got a crush on someone? Who is it?" There was a smirk pulling on her lips as Hermione's face exploded with red.

"Y-you heard that?!" The girl squeaked as she began to fidget with her brown curls. "How?"

"I have great hearing." That smirk grew larger as she stood and walked over to where the brunette stood. Really, Jade was somewhat jealous that Hermione had a crush on someone, but she didn't want to come off as the crazy friend who was secretly pining for their best friend. So she played it cool, find out who he is so she can beat the shit out of him later. "So spill, who is he?" Hermione turned on her heels and bolted up the stairs after locking the door. Jade smirked as she leapt over the couch and high tailed it after her, determined to find out who her friend's secret crush was. "You can't out run me Hermione, we're in a house!" She caught up to the brunette in her bedroom as she tried to lock herself in the bathroom, but Jade was quick and caught the door before it could close.

"It's embarrassing!" The younger girl cried as she tried, to no avail, to shut the door. "Besides, you weren't supposed to hear that you eaves dropper!"

"I can't help that I have exceptional hear, Granger." Jade was chuckling as she pushed the door open gently and Hermione gave up trying to keep her out. "So? Just tell me. I promise not to hurt them."

**_Too seriously. _**Jade thought as she rolled her eyes at her inner monologue.

"You promise not to laugh?"

"Cross my heart." A hand made the shape of an X over Jade's chest as Hermione sighed and walked out of the bathroom to sit on her bed. Jade joined her, watching the brunette intently until Hermione's hands flew over her face and a muffled noise came from her. "What was that? My hearing's not that good."

"It's you." She said as she pulled her hands away from her face, but didn't make eye contact with blue eyes that had grown wide with shock. Jade sat there, frozen for what seemed like minutes, the silence slowly eating away at both of them. Never in the past forty years had she found anyone she wanted to be with as much as the girl sitting next to her, but she didn't want to admit it. Now, knowing that Hermione was crushing on her, it made things a little more concrete and Jade was conflicted with how to respond. Tell her the truth, or lie to keep her safe? "You think I'm weird now, don't you?"

"N-no…no of course not." Jade breathed softly as she stopped gaping at the brunette and shook her head. "I just…I'm sort of…well, I'm shocked. Girls like you don't usually have crushes on people like me."

"You're not as bad as you think you are." Hermione giggled softly before looking up into blue eyes that looked like they were fighting some sort of mental battle. "I know it was fast, but…there's just something about you Jade. I can't…I can't put my finger on it, but I…want, no. I need you. You're like oxygen to me and I can't breathe when you're not around."

"Hermione," It was maybe the second or third time Jade had used her first name, maybe more, but who's counting? "I…uhm."

"It's ok if you don't feel the same." The girl said softly as sadness began to wash over her features. "I mean, I know I'm young and you don't know me very well, but I just wanted to let you know how I feel, that's all."

"I feel the same." Hermione's eyes snapped open as wide as Jade thought they could ever be and she chuckled at the look on the younger girl's face. "I don't know why, but I want to protect you and make you happy. I know I'm distant and harsh sometimes towards you, but you really have woken a side of me I thought was lost years ago. I mean look at me, I was in the same room as Ron Weasley and I didn't hit him once, so that's saying something. Normally I wouldn't hesitate to bash his brains in, but because I was in your house, because I was with you I held myself back. I wanted you to have fun and enjoy being with your friends even though I don't really get along with them." Hermione flung her arms around Jade's neck with so much force it pushed the older girl back onto the bed. Her face was buried in the older girl's neck as she felt strong arms wrap around her waist. This was new, for both of them, but thankfully reciprocated as Hermione pulled away, a bright smile on her face as she hovered over Jade who was looking at her with a gentle glow in her blue eyes. Soon there faces were only millimeters apart as Jade leaned up slowly and brushed her lips against the brunette's. A barely audible gasp escaped Hermione's lungs as she felt the tingling on her lips and dipped down to deepen the kiss. It was perfect, there was no pressure for more and no want filled moans floating in the air, there was only tender caresses of Jade's finger tips along Hermione's cheek and a hand tangling into black locks. When they pulled away for much needed oxygen, Jade didn't push for more, instead she readjusted herself so her head was lying on the pillows and Hermione joined her. There were no more words, no more awkward looks, or apprehensive touches. They just laid there, Jade's arm draped over Hermione's waist as she rested her forehead against the other girl's gently. Hermione's hand cupped the senior's cheek and soon they were both drifting off to sleep with smiles on their faces.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3! Thanks monkgirl for the review and I'm glad that the story works all right with no magic. Hopefully you'll be satisfied with the events that will unfold :D And thanks for all you other readers for reading!

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Chapter 3: Marks

Jade was running through a forest, the moon was full and high above her head as if it was taunting her. Telling her she couldn't get away no matter how fast or how far she ran, it would always know where she was. Her feet were bleeding and her muscles were screaming for her to halt, but she ran on. She had no choice. They were after her, the people who thought she had murdered her parents and sister, they had set fire to their house to try and draw her out. It wasn't her fault, she was gone the night that her parents had been killed by some vicious beast, a beast like she was.

"There it is!" A man cried as Jade looked over her shoulder to see the metal of a rifle glinting in the moonlight. "We have to kill it before it infects the town!" A loud shot into the night as a bullet whizzed past her head. Jade dodged to the left and tumbled down a ravine before slamming her head against a large tree. Her world was spinning, the torches and shouts were getting louder as she rubbed the back of her head. "THERE!" A few men slid down the ravine as Jade stood on wobbly legs and backed herself against the tree.

"Stay away from me!" She yelled as her blue eyes darted between all of the men surrounding her, guns raised. Suddenly the fear and anger couldn't be contained as the pain began tearing at her body. "Ahhhh! Get BACK!" Jade growled as she lunged forward onto her hands and knees. She could feel her muscles tear and bones breaking before reshaping themselves. A few gasps rang in her ears as her senses became sharper and a deep growl vibrated in her chest. There was a stinging in her shoulder and side as bullets peppered her body as she stood at her full height with thick white fur covering her body. Another roar before she bared her teeth at the men and they cowered back, a few ran as she advanced on them until all she could see, smell, and taste was blood.

Jade inhaled sharply as she sat up in the dark room, her heart beating erratically as she clutched her chest. She was gasping for breath as she looked up and caught her reflection in Hermione's mirror above her dresser. Her eyes were glowing brightly and her teeth were sharp with elongated canines. Jade growled slightly as she covered her face with her hands and noticed her finger nails had grown into claws.

**_This can't be happening right now. _**Jade yelled mentally as she tried to slow her heart rate and took deep, even breaths to calm her nerves.

"Jade?" A quiet murmur sounded to her right as Jade glanced down between her fingers and saw Hermione stir slightly. "Are you ok?" Jade began to panic and she got out of bed before heading to the bathroom. "Jade?" The panic in her was pushing her shift as she slammed the door and locked it. Blue eyes were staring back at the raven haired girl as she supported herself on the sink and tried to even out her breathing.

"I-I'm fine, Hermione." She called through the door as she willed her teeth to shrink down back to normal. "Just…give me a minute." A pain erupted in her chest as her ribs tried to expand to accommodate her growing lungs and groaned loudly as her knees began to buckle.

"Jade!"

**_This can't happen here. _**The blue eyed girl's mind was racing as she placed her hand on the sink to assist and stand back up on her feet. She squeezed her eyes shut as Hermione started to knock on the door and Jade tried hard to block everything out of her mind as she focused on her normal self. A few deep breaths and several minutes of meditating, the shift finally stopped and when her eyes opened again, she was back to normal. Blue eyes were their normal deep blue and her teeth were back to human standard. The burning in her chest was gone as she slouched and released a heavy sigh. Hermione was still knocking on the door as the senior unlocked the door and opened it.

"Are you ok?!" The brunette looked completely disheveled as she gently grabbed Jade's shoulders and started inspecting her face. "You looked like you were going to pass out." The blue eyed girl smirked as she nodded and Hermione's hands gently cupped her face. She closed her eyes as she enjoyed the sensation of the younger girl's soft hands against her cheeks.

"I'm ok, Hermione." Jade whispered as she placed her hands on Hermione's and slowly pulled them away. "I just…I had a nightmare is all and I kind of lost sight of where I was." She rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. Jade couldn't tell Hermione the truth, that she'd had a nightmare of her past and that she'd murdered several people in a blind rage. She'd be sure to think the older girl was insane. "It's nothing to worry about, I promise." Hermione eyed her curiously before sighing and taking Jade's hands in her own and leading her back to bed. Jade ran a hand through her hair as she laid back down on the bed with the brunette next to her.

"You sure you're going to be ok?" The younger girl whispered as she scooted closer to Jade and looked into her blue eyes. "You looked, frantic when you woke up." Jade smirked and nodded her head as she wrapped an arm around Hermione's waist and pulled her close.

"It was just a nightmare, Granger." The older girl breathed as she buried her nose in the soft brown curls. "I'm fine, it was just vivid is all."

"If you say so," Hermione yawned as she nuzzled her nose against the blue eyed girl's neck and sighed as she closed her eyes. Jade sighed as she felt the brunette's breathing get steady before letting her mind wandering back to her nightmare. She wished it had only been a mere dream, but the fact was that it was part of her past. The day her parents had been murdered by her brother and their home set ablaze. That's when the villagers came after her, they had heard the rumors, and her brother had been killing randomly when he felt like it so it made her family suspicious already. Finally, sleep came back to her as she closed her eyes and tried to focus on the human girl that was sleeping calmly in her arms.

x-x

The rest of the night was fairly calm with Jade only waking up once more at five in the morning and then staying up in bed as Hermione slept. It was Friday and Jade was really contemplating skipping school to make sure that she had everything in order at her house in case Jaxyn decided to stop by. She had prayed to a higher being that Aiden hadn't gone off and told her brother where she was, but if Aiden could find her, there was no reason that Jaxyn wouldn't. Either way, she hoped he wouldn't so she wouldn't have to pick up her life and run again. It was hard to just leave a place you had lived for most of your life and being over one hundred years old, Jade hated to move the things she'd acquired over and over again. All she really wanted to do was live the life of an omega and take care of herself. She had never had the pack mentality like Jaxyn had and that's why she'd left. Jade never wanted to be the creature she was, but now she had no choice, but to take control and leave her old life behind. Running was getting old and now that she had Hermione, she didn't want to run anymore. Around six thirty, Jade thought it best to wake the girl sleeping on her arm since she knew for sure Hermione would want to go to school.

"Hermione?" Jade whispered softly into the brunette's ear and the girl stirred slightly, releasing a soft whimper into the air. "Hermione, wake up. It's time to get ready for school." With a drawn out groan, the younger girl rolled over and rubbed her eyes viciously to get the sleep out of them before brown orbs fluttered open. "Good morning." The senior greeted with a small smile.

"Morning," Hermione yawned as she looked over at the blue eyed girl next to her and a sleepy smile crossed her lips. "How long have you been up?"

"Just a little while," The senior lied as Hermione scooted closer to her and rested her head on Jade's chest. "Long enough to know you'd sleep in later if I hadn't woken you. You were out like a light." The brunette blushed as she buried her face in Jade's shirt and the older girl chuckled as she tucked a curl behind Hermione's ear.

"That was such a good sleep." Hermione's voice was still dripping with exhaustion as she rolled over again and sat up before stretching her arms. "I was really tempted to just stay in bed all day, but it is Friday, I suppose I should go in case I have any tests." She swung her legs over her bed and stretched again as she squeaked a little before yawning. Jade smiled at her as she watched the girl rise and slip into her adjoined bathroom. Soon the sound of rushing water filled the air as Hermione started the shower and the older girl sat up before ruffling her hair. The sun was shining brightly as blue eyes stared out the window, but dark rolling clouds were rolling in from over the mountains in the distance that set Jade's nerves on edge.

"How close are you, brother?" She whispered as she closed her eyes and shook her head. "Maybe I should stop running."

"Running from what?" A voice sang behind her as Jade turned to see Hermione dressed in a white spaghetti strap top and blue jeans, towel drying her hair. Jade couldn't stop her eyes from roaming over the younger girl's body as she flipped her hair back and face donned a look of confusion. "What?" The raven haired girl shook her head slightly as she started to blush and rubbed the back of her neck. She didn't know why she was so suddenly, and intensely drawn to Hermione, but she couldn't really fight it off as she found herself advancing towards her.

"N-nothing," Jade fumbled with her words as she gave the girl a lopsided grin. "You just…uhm, you look nice." The younger girl started to blush as she threw the towel back into the bathroom and ran a hand through her damp hair.

"Th-thanks," The sophomore whispered as she blush got deeper and walked to her closet to pull out a red hoodie with Jade drawing closer. "R-ready for breakfast?" Jade nodded and Hermione averted her gaze to the floor as the senior tucked a curl behind the shorter girl's ear tenderly before sliding a hand around her waist. Hermione's eyes locked with Jade's and couldn't stop the sigh that escaped her throat when she saw the darkened blue eyes that were gazing at her passionately. Jade gently brushed her fingertips along Hermione's jaw as brown eyes fluttered shut and warm lips brushed against hers softly. Electricity flowed through the younger girl's body as she moved her lips with Jade's and wrapped her arms around the taller girl's neck. The sensation was powerful and the brunette moaned softly as their bodies pressed firmly together until there was no space separating them. Strong arms wrapped around her waist as she stood on her tip toes to deepen the kiss and the senior parted her lips to gently bite her bottom lip. The brunette sighed as she felt Jade lift her slightly and finally, they broke away slightly to breathe the oxygen they had been neglecting. Hermione rested her forehead against her Jade's and took a long deep breath as she opened her eyes. A playful smirk played on the dark haired girl's lips.

"Maybe we should skip school," The taller girl whispered with a teasing lilt in her voice. Hermione giggled and brushed her nose against the older girl's affectionately before pecking her on the lips again.

"And what would the day consist of, if I may ask?" Hermione mumbled as Jade gently placed her back down on the floor. Blue eyes sparked mischievously as the raven haired girl wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. "Jade!" A gentle smack on the shoulder caused the older girl to chuckle as Hermione pulled away and straightened her clothes.

x-x

Jade had somehow convinced Hermione to let her skip school today as she watched Hermione drive off towards school. The brunette offered to give her a ride home, but Jade refused as she waved as Hermione drove off. By the time Jade had started walking towards her small home, it was eight thirty and the clouds were already blocking out the rays of the sun. The end of October was proving to be harsh as an icy gust of wind blew through dark hair as Jade unlocked her front door around eleven. It's not that her house was particularly far from her friend's house, but she had taken the long way. She'd been living in her small, two bedroom house for the past five years since she had arrived in the new little town in Northern Colorado. Jade enjoyed and needed to be close to the forest and at the time, she thought it would be the perfect place to live since nothing ever really happened there. The most exciting thing to happen in the little town was probably Jade picking a fight with red headed quarter back.

The blue eyed girl sighed as she flopped down on her worn, black leather couch and stared at her light grey walls around her. Her eyes closed for a moment to take in her solidarity and felt a wave of relaxation as her mind wandered off to Hermione. It was strange how the brunette could affect her so with so little effort. One minute she was the intimidating senior that she'd always been, and when Hermione was around, she was as submissive as a new freshman. Jade shook her head slightly as she smirked and folded her hands behind her head. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Jade shot up immediately as the hairs on the back of her neck bristled. Something wasn't right. The knock came again, louder and harder than before, so much so that it shook the dust from the door frame that had built up from the past few days of negligence. A deep growl reverberated in the back of her throat as the knocking grew more intense and louder until…it just stopped.

Jade paused slightly before slowly getting up and making her way towards the door. There were no unnatural scents or sounds, but she was still on edge as she took a deep breath and put her hand on the brass door knob. She expected something, anything out of the ordinary or someone to barge in and attack, but as she opened the door there was nothing. It creaked open as she peeked through the crack and scanned the area carefully. The street outside her house was quiet and scarce of life as she opened the door wider to make sure no one was out there. As the door opened she noticed the claw marks that peppered the dark wood of her door. Her eyes narrowed as she examined the deep gouges and scratches on the wood as she dragged her fingertips along four, particularly deep scrapes that crossed another set of deep gouges to make an X.

"He's here." She breathed quietly as she felt her muscles twitch as she inhaled deeply towards the door and snarled at the scent of her brother and others radiating from the marks. "Hermione." Jade's head snapped up and a spark of fear ran all the way down her spine as she slammed her door shut.

x-x

School was usually something Hermione enjoyed, she always had growing up and even more so as she got into middle school. Learning about things that weren't just rudimentary math and English which seemed so unnecessary at the time, now she excelled in most subjects, but her passion was science. She liked learning about things and how they affect other things to change and create. That's what she wanted to do when she got older, find things that changed others to create. This was what was running through the brunette's head as she sat in her Literature class and the teacher kept drawling on about Odysseus. It was strange being at school without Jade. They always met up for lunch and now she had been missing her greatly. Sitting with Ginny and Harry was fine, but it wasn't the same as conversing with the blue eyed girl. The bell finally rang as Hermione stuffed her bag with her books and slung her bag over her shoulder.

"Hey, Hermione!" Ginny greeted as the brunette was headed out to the parking lot with Harry trailing behind. "What are you doing today after school?"

"Probably just going back home," The brunette answered as Harry slipped his arm around the red head's shoulders and Hermione opened the doors. Students poured out of the doors as the three friends walked to their cars. "What about you two?"

"Excuse me," Suddenly there was a man standing between Hermione and her car dressed in a leather jacket over a hoodie. He was tall with a bit of scruff on his face that matched his slicked back auburn hair and contrasted his green eyes. "Do any of you know a McHale girl?" The three stopped and eyed the man carefully. He seemed well enough, but there was still something off as to why an older man was looking for a high school student.

"Who is asking?" The red head asked, always the fiery, over protective girl. "I've never seen you around here before?" The man chuckled as he ran a hand over his greasy hair.

"I'm an old friend." Hermione looked around and immediately noticed that there were two other people ambling towards the auburn haired man. "We…are old friends." He nodded to the other two that joined him. A blonde boy, around their age with hair that barely brushed his shoulders, and a balding brunette man who looked to be in his thirties, both wearing heavy jackets. She suddenly felt anxious as she watched the other students get in their cars and drive off. Ginny folded her arms over chest and huffed. "We've been looking for her for a long time, so any information would be very helpful." He gave Hermione a small smirk as he eyed her slowly. "What about you girly? You reek of Jade."

"Who are you anyways?" Harry asked sternly, trying to be the tough, protective boyfriend. "Are you family or something of Jade's?"

"Forgive me, my name is Jayce." Jayce swept his arm towards his two cohorts. "This is Beck," He motioned towards the blonde. "And Lucas, and…we're sort of family. Long lost, if you will."

"I'm sorry, but you're wrong." The brunette girl said finally as she shook her head and readjusted her bag. "We go to school with Jade, but…I don't know her." For some reason her brain was screaming at her to lie to this man. He looked dangerous and the fact that he had others with him didn't make her instincts calmer. "So if you wouldn't mind stepping away from my car." She made to move past him and he grabbed her upper arm firmly.

"Hey!" Ginny yelled as she went to intervene, but the blonde boy stepped in front of her with a devious smirk on his young face. "What do you think you're doing?" Harry shoved the blonde boy who chuckled, not budging much as his pale blue eyes began to glow faintly and a low growl left the blonde's throat. The boy stepped back with shock in his green eyes as Beck grinned evilly and straightened his jacket.

"Pushy boyfriend ya got there, Red." The blonde said as he nodded towards Harry. "Maybe you should put a collar on him to keep him in line." The balding man chuckled as he ran a hand over his thinning hair.

"Now don't lie to me girly." Jayce said firmly as he pushed Hermione up against her car door and pinned her there before taking a deep breath next to the chestnut waves. "Jade's scent is all over you and not just in passing. You've spent a lot of time with her lately, so tell me, where is she now?"

"I'm right here." A smooth voice said with a hint of anger underscoring the calmness of her Jade's voice. "Let her go." Jade walked up to the group of men and students as she clenched her fists. Hermione watched as she approached and noticed her eyes were narrowed to the point where she couldn't see the older girl's pupils.

"Speak of the goddamned devil." Jayce mused as he pushed himself off the car and away from Hermione with a large grin on his face. "If it's isn't the long lost sister of our pack. How's forty years on the run been, little Jade?" Forty years? The brunette's mind began to spin as she heard the auburn man speak and Jade's jaw tightened at his words. Forty years couldn't be right.

"Cut the shit, Jayce." Jade hissed as she stopped a foot away from him and glanced at Hermione. "Let the kids go, they don't have anything to do with this and I don't want them caught in the crosshairs." Jayce chuckled as Beck and Lucas turned and joined their friend.

"You should've thought about that before befriending these normals." Beck jeered as he kicked the ground lazily as he stretched his arms up. "What the fuck do you think you're doing slumming around with the likes of these people? Away from the forest and away from the people who know and understand what you are?"

"Will you shut it?" The blue eyed girl retorted with a shake of her head and bared her teeth. "I didn't want to fuck around with you guys anymore! After you decided to join Him, then I couldn't stay." Hermione, Ginny, and Harry were left watching dumbly as the four others conversed, but what were they talking about? Normals? People who understood _what _Jade was?

"He's coming." The auburn haired man said calmly as he rubbed his stubble and narrowed his eyes at Jade. "You know why He's coming, don't you? It's not going to be pleasant. Either you come back with us, or he kills you."

"What?!" Hermione squeaked. She couldn't stand this anymore. All this talk like Jade was a something and not a someone was disturbing her. What did these men know about the raven haired girl that no one else did? "Kill her? Whoever you're talking about wouldn't get away with that!" Four pairs of eyes fell on her as the men and Jade were distracted by the brunette's outburst.

"He can girly." Jayce smirked as he nodded back to Jade. "She's got a job to do, and either she does it or she dies. That's how our law works."

"Your law?" The younger girl asked narrowing her eyes and looking curiously as Jayce and his two followers laughed.

"Does she not know, Jade?" Lucas asked in a very deep voice. "You've been around these normals and they haven't caught on? You must have learned to control yourself very well."

"Shut up." Blue eyes narrowed even more and she clenched her teeth and growl escaped her throat. "I'm not like you."

"Well let's see how unlike us you are." Beck smirked as he turned and started stalking towards Hermione. "If you're not like us, then you won't be able to stop me from ripping this little girl apart." He grabbed the girl by the collar of the shirt and slammed her hard against her car. Hermione gasped as a small bit of air was pushed out of her lungs. Ginny growled in protest, but Lucas was there to bar her and Harry's way. "It'd be so easy, just to rip her throat out." A smirk spread on the blonde's lips as he leaned down and Hermione heard a growl in his chest. The brunette cowered away as he got closer and she pressed her hands against his shoulders to push him away. Suddenly, there was a hand on Beck's neck, holding him firm.

"Get your hands off of her." Jade's eyes were glowing brightly as she spoke through her teeth that were growing sharper by the second. Her hand was tense around the blonde's neck as his eyes began to glow equally bright and he released Hermione before grabbing Jade by the collar. "If you ever lay a finger on her again, I will rip your heart out so you can see it stop beating before you die." Hermione was taken aback by the ferocity in Jade's voice as she watched and Jayce put a hand on Beck's shoulder.

"Easy now, Beck." The auburn haired man said calmly as steam started to roll off of the exposed skin of the blonde and Jade. "We don't want to go off in such an open area in the middle of the day now do we?" The two didn't seem to notice him as Beck began breathing heavily and Jade ripped off her jacket before throwing it on the ground.

"Get back, Hermione." She snarled as the blonde boy tore his jacket off with his shirt as more steam rolled off his exposed flesh. The brunette nodded numbly as she moved back by Harry and Ginny who were left by Lucas who joined Jayce to observe. Jade tore off her flannel to reveal a black tank top and very toned muscles.

"This is going to be fun." The blonde quipped eagerly as he began rolling his neck and bouncing on the balls of his feet. Jayce gave him a glare, but sighed as he backed away. "It's not like there's anyone else around, Jayce, loosen up. It's just a bit of fun." The auburn man rolled his eyes as he folded his arms over his chest and sighed. Without warning, Beck lurched forward as the cracking of bones filled the air and Hermione's eyes widened as she watched the man writhe and reshape into a larger, hairier half man, half wolf. This wasn't like the movies though, this wasn't a scrawny, malnourished werewolf like in the movie they had watched the night before. This was a very fit, very real, muscled beast that stood on its hind legs, had a tail and the shortened face of a wolf.

"This can't be real." Ginny whispered as she gaped at the monster standing before them. "This is just a nightmare right? We're all going to wake up in a bit?" Harry and Hermione couldn't answer as they watched the light brown wolf-man standing before them. Before another word could be uttered, the wolf launched forward and slammed into Jade with his shoulder, sending the blue eyed girl flying. Jade landed hard on the pavement as Hermione's breath caught in her lungs at the assault her friend had just taken.

"Jade!" She screamed as she tried to move forward, but her feet were solid on the ground, unable to move. "This can't be happening." Brown eyes watched as Jade laid on the ground, unmoving as Beck let out a deep chuckle from his throat.

"What's wrong Jade?" The wolf jeered as he fell forward on all fours. "A little rusty from being out of practice?" To Hermione and her friend's amazement, Jade moved, and not just moved. She stood up as if nothing had happened and dusted herself off without a bruise. "Where's the real you?"

"I'm not eager to lose control like you guard dogs!" Jade snapped as she cracked her neck and flipped her hair over her shoulder. "I can keep control without shifting." The blue eyed girl growled as Beck chuckled and lunged for her again, this time she sidestepped easily out of his path.

"Don't pretend you're better." The brown wolf snarled as he tried to hit her again and again. "You're just like us. Are you ashamed of who you are?" Hermione watched in horror as the monster tried to attack her girlfriend. Was Jade her girlfriend? She shook her head slightly and tried to swallow to remedy her dry throat.

"Should we stay here?" Harry asked quietly as he noticed that the men weren't keeping track of them anymore. "This is our chance to get away."

"We can't just leave Jade." The brunette squeaked as she turned and glared at her two friends. "What if she gets hurt?" There was a loud roar as the three students turned in time to see Jade standing behind a fallen wolf, her eyes glowing bright, canines much longer than normal, and blood dripping form her right hand that had claws tipping her fingers instead of fingernails. She was panting as Jayce and Lucas went to tend to their friend. This steam was rolling off of her shoulders as she gritted her teeth and wrapped her arms around her torso.

"A bit hard to keep that beast locked up once it's had a taste of fresh air, eh?" Lucas added with a smirk as Beck was now changed back to his human self and had four deep gashes from his shoulder to his stomach. "You keep it caged any longer and it will break out on its own." Jade fell to her knees and Hermione found herself jogging over to her, concern filling her entire body. Her brain was telling her, demanding, that she run in the opposite direction of these things, but she was drawn to Jade and seeing the girl in pain only pulled her harder.

"Jade." She whispered as she fell to her own knees next to the senior who had one hand on the pavement as the other was still grasping at some invisible pain in her chest. "Jade, are you ok?" When Jade looked up at Hermione, the brunette couldn't stifle her gasp or stop her hand from flying up to her mouth. Jade's eyes were illuminated and her pupils contracted to where they almost disappeared in the reflection of the sun. Worse more, they were in pain, frantic and Hermione felt an ache in her chest as a fresh wave of whatever was hurting Jade filled her body and she clenched her jaw and groaned. Instinctively, the brunette wrapped her arms around her friend's neck and held her tight.

"It's ok, just breathe." Hermione's voice was a muffle in Jade's ears, tuned out by the excess of blood rushing to her head. She wanted to change, her wolf demanded it, but she could not allow it. Not in the middle of town in broad day light. She wasn't as reckless as Beck. "I'm here." The younger girl's voice got clearer as Jade began taking long, deep, drawn out breaths as she exhaled steam into the icy air. Hermione continued to chant her mantra and run her hands through silken locks as the elder girl finally got control of her adrenaline and took one last deep gulp before letting it out slowly through her nose. When she opened her eyes again, Hermione was relieved to see that they were the same deep blue color of the ocean she was so used to seeing and her teeth were back to normal. Arms slipped around the sophomore's waist as other girl pulled Hermione into a tight embrace.

"Thank you," Her normal, calm and collected tone was gone as Jade whispered her thanks to the brunette. It had been replaced by a strained, raspy tenor that exposed how much the taller girl had gone through. "I don't know if I would've been able to hold it back if you hadn't been here." It was the truth. She had been so close that she could feel the first of her ribs beginning to break, threatening to demolish her walls she'd worked so hard over the years to build, but Hermione's voice calmed her when she heard it and brought her back enough to smother the beast. The brunette just nodded as she held the raven haired beauty in her arms, until there was a so clapping that cause Jade's head to snap back and glare at the three men who still remained.

"Very well done, Jade." Jayce mused sarcastically as he finished clapping and ran his fingers through his now, slightly unkempt hair. "Taking down Beck without shifting and controlling your inner beast. Jaxyn will be very impressed when he finds you, he might even get a little nervous that you can tap into your strength without changing. That intrigues me to find out how strong you truly are." Beck snorted, his shirt and jacket replaced over his body as her folded his hands over his chest and rolled his eyes. "We'll go for now, but I'm warning you cousin, He's close if not already here, we were just the welcoming party." Without another word, the three turned and started walking away as if they had just gotten bored of the situation. Jade sighed heavily before slowly standing up on rather shaky legs and felt her muscles argue against any swift movements. She winced as she tried to straighten out her shoulders and suddenly remembered the initial attack from the blonde man. Blue eyes looked down at Hermione, and then over to where Ginny and Harry stood, mouths agape and eyes wide and glassy like a deer in the headlights about to be run over.

"I suppose," Jade breathed heavily as she ran a hand through her hair and closed her eyes. It had been a long time since she had to explain her condition to anyone and Draco wasn't here to lighten the load since he was the only other human who knew of her unnatural existence. "I have some explaining to do, why don't you all come back to my place and…" That's when she remembered the X on her door. The mark that told others like her that were passing through, that she was wanted. A shudder ran down her spine as she thought of Hermione and the others being there if Jaxyn decided to show up. "Never mind my place, let's just find somewhere private where I can explain things."

"Explain?!" Ginny screeched as her motor function returned and her senses came back to her. "How can you explain what just happened! What were they?! What are you?!" Jade tensed as the red head shouted at her. It had been a while since she'd had to explain what she was to a human, normally she would just run and make herself disappear.

"Gin, calm down." Harry said as he put a hand on his girlfriend's shoulders. She whipped around to look at him, her caramel colored eyes blazing with rage.

"Calm down?!" Her voice was shrill and everyone winced slightly as she yelled. "Calm down?! How can you be so calm in a situation like this?! She is a monster!" Ginny pointed at Jade who hung her head and let out a long sigh. "This is unreal, _she _can't exist! Those…things, can't exist! This isn't some horror movie this is real life!"

"Ginny!" Hermione exploded finally after seeing how uncomfortable Jade was getting with the conversation. "Please, this is surreal for all of us, but we need to get somewhere more private. Let's go to my house."

"Hermione," Jade said quietly as she stepped forward, still dressed in the tank top with her flannel over her shoulder. "I can't ask you to do that. To let me back into your house after what you've seen that I am."

"All I saw," The brunette whispered as she turned to face the taller girl. "Was you get enraged. You're not like them, I know you're not." Jade frowned and turned away as Hermione looked back at her friends. "Let's go to my house and sort things out." Ginny finally seemed to calm down enough to not be screaming as she nodded and she and Harry headed to her van. Hermione turned towards her car and opened the door before noticing that Jade hadn't moved since she spoke. "Jade, are you coming?" Blue eyes stayed trained on the ground as the brunette walked over to the raven haired girl and put a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"I never wanted you to get involved." Jade hissed through clenched teeth as her hands tightened into fists. "The past forty years I was able to keep myself from getting too close to anyone that would hold me back from running when I needed to run to get away from them or when I was in high school for too long, but then you came along." Her eyes found brown orbs as she looked up and Hermione was stunned at the look of sad determination in azure pools that she was drowning in. "I've never been drawn to someone so much, to the point that my instinct to protect you brought me here from my house. I ran eight miles to get here because I knew I needed to be here in case something happened and it did. You could've been hurt."

"But I'm fine." The younger girl said firmly as she stepped forward and took Jade's hands in her own. "You did come for me, you promised to protect me and you did."

"I'm bad for you, Hermione." Jade's voice was husky as she shook her head and narrowed her eyes. "If you stick around me, you'll never have a normal life." Suddenly there was a loud car horn and Ginny drove up next to them.

"Are you guys leaving or what?" She hissed as Harry shot them an apologetic look. Hermione sighed as Jade's brow furrowed and huffed loudly.

"Yeah," Hermione looked at Jade firmly and nodded towards the car. "We're coming."

x-x

The scenario at Hermione's house was very similar to what it had been the night before. Hermione was sitting on the love seat next to Jade as Harry and Ginny sat on the couch adjacent to them. Everyone, besides the brunette, was staring at the blue eyed girl who was fidgeting under their tormenting gazes.

"So," Harry said trying to break the silence. "How long have you been a werewolf?" Jade chuckled as Ginny shot him a glare and Hermione shook her head.

"I'm not a werewolf, technically." Jade answered with a small smirk still on her face. "Uhm…I'm…I'm an ancestor of them though."

"Then what are you exactly?" Ginny asked harshly as she folded her arms over her chest and sighed. "Those guys sure looked like werewolves to me, have man, half wolf. Seems fitting."

"I'm a lycan, the first versions of the mindless animals you humans see as werewolves." Blue eyes flickered down to her hands as she leaned forward resting her elbows on her knees. "Unlike werewolves, I can…well, my kind, can change at will and we are completely cognitive of our actions."

"But what about the full moon?" The green eyed boy asked as she leaned forward, obviously curious "Does that have any effect on you?"

"It does, it makes me stronger." She answered truthfully as she ran a hand through her dark hair and glanced over at Hermione who was listening intently. "I don't have to shift every full moon though, if that's what you mean. But if I go a few months without changing, I get…anxious. Like a junky who needs a fix." Harry nodded as Ginny rubbed her temples and groaned.

"So this is for real?" She asked sarcastically as she finally looked Jade in the eyes. "You're this…lycan thing, and you're for real? This isn't a hoax or anything?"

"Ginny, you saw that man change." Hermione added as she looked at her friend with her eyebrows raised. "This is definitely real."

"But we never saw Jade change." The red head retorted as she eyed the blue eyed girl closely. "How do we know she's just not some schizo who thinks she's a knock off werewolf?" Hermione sighed as she looked over at Jade who just inhaled deeply and nodded.

"You want proof?" The raven haired girl asked as she glanced over at the red head who nodded. Jade stood slowly, closed her eyes and took a long breath in through her nose. She rolled her neck slowly as Hermione and her other two friends watched the taller girl closely. Suddenly Jade's eyes snapped open and the brunette gasped as her eyes were glowing bright neon blue and her teeth were sharp and larger than any human's she had ever seen. She bared her teeth at Ginny and Harry as a deep growl resonated in her throat. Harry's eyes widened as he pressed his back against the back of the couch and Ginny winced. As fast as the shift happened, Jade was back to her normal self and smirking smugly at the two. "Satisfied?" The two nodded as she sat back down next to the brunette.

"How come you don't turn all wolfish like that blonde guy?" The brunette next to her asked curiously as she turned and sat indian style on the couch. "I mean, sure that was…really intimidating, but an eight foot tall wolf man is downright terrifying."

"I haven't fully shifted in years." Jade sighed as she looked over at Hermione and gave her a small smile. "I didn't want to be like this, my brother…he made me. Forced the bite on me on my eighteenth birthday, said it was going to make me stronger, healthier."

"What do you mean?" Ginny asked, her voice finally back down to normal pitches. "Obviously it would make you stronger, but healthier?"

"I was born in 1887," The lycan continued as she ran both hands through her hair and remembered her past life. "When I was twelve, I fell ill and found out I had a small tear in my heart, a birth defect. It made me weak, I couldn't run and play with the other kids and I was constantly in the hospital as I aged. They told me I wouldn't live past the age of sixteen, but I did. Jaxyn, my younger brother, he took it the hardest. I had already accepted the fact that I may not make it, but he didn't accept it and when I turned fifteen, I ended up in the hospital again. That's when he left. He said he was going to find a cure for me. Something to make me stronger."

"He found werewolv…er, lycans instead." Harry deduced as Jade hung her head and nodded. "But how does that help you?"

"Lycans, werewolves also, are immune to all human diseases." Jade continued quietly as she tapped her fingertips together. "When you receive the bite or are born, it heals any ailment you have or could have had and makes you stronger, more resilient." There was something in Jade's voice that made Hermione sad as the older girl swallowed and continued with her story. "I didn't…I didn't know what he was offering me before it was too late. After…after he bit me…my first shift was rough and I killed a man who was drunk and stumbled into the forest. Since then…I've, I've never wanted to shift unless I needed to." Jade swallowed hard again and shook her head as if to rid her mind of the horrible memory. "That's when I ran. The people in my small town knew my brother and I were different and they attacked when someone found my parents and my little sister…dead. Torn apart. The townspeople thought it was me and burned down their house before coming after me." She could hear the screams, the shouts of anger as the people chased her and she squeezed her eyes shut as she remembered the fire and the look in Jaxyn's eyes as she fled.

"That's horrible, Jade." The brunette whispered as she moved closer and put a soothing hand on her back. "I'm sorry you had to go through that."

"Wait, wait, wait…" The red head chimed as she shook her head and looked at Jade firmly. "So you're…one hundred and twenty-six years old?" Jade nodded as Ginny sighed and fell back into the couch cushions. "This is just too much."

"I agree." The older girl said as she sighed. "I hadn't intended on letting anyone here know about my life, I was content being the town outcast and moving again, but I didn't expect Hermione." Blue eyes looked over at the brunette who blushed slightly under her warm gaze. Jade smirked and turned to face the girl properly before gently taking her hands in her own. "I never expected to acquire feelings for someone in my life." Hermione's blush deepened as she squeezed Jade's hands and smiled shyly at her.

"And this whole lycan thing, it doesn't bother you Hermione?" Harry asked finally as he adjusted his glasses and rubbed the back of his neck. "Knowing that Jade can turn into one of those…wolves, you're ok with that?" Hermione looked down at her hands and thought about it. It was the first real moment she had to think about everything she had seen and heard today from the blue eyed lycan next to her to the light brown wolf that had attacked them. In all reality, she should be freaking out and scared out of her mind, but something was making her calm. Her mind wanted her to run away and forget about Jade, but another part of her, the larger part, wanted to be with her always.

"It's a lot to take in," Hermione whispered finally as she twirled a curl around her finger and bit her bottom lip. "But that doesn't change how I see Jade. Since the first day we met I haven't judged her and I don't think I can start now."

"You're a better person than I am, Hermione." Ginny said as she ruffled her hair and sighed. "So you're like, not gonna get super angry and wolf out on us or anything like that are you? Seek revenge for all the ridicule, go all Carrie on us with pig's blood at prom?" Jade chuckled and shook her head before brushing her bangs out of her eyes.

"I just want to continue my life like I was." She answered softly as she looked into Hermione warm brown eyes. It was strange to Jade to feel so strongly towards someone she'd only known for two days, but being a lycan, it wasn't unheard of. After all, they had mates they stayed with for life. She only needed one hundred and twenty-six years to find hers, not that she would drop that bomb on Hermione yet. "You can't let anyone know, do you understand? Lycans can blend perfectly into society and if there're others looking for me I don't know who is safe to trust."

"What about Ron?" Ginny's caramel eyes were glazed over with concern as she looked at Harry who shrugged. "He's nosy, he'll find out somehow I'm sure."

"Then let him find out on his own." The lycan answered firmly. She wasn't ready to endanger all these kids because of her. "The less people that know the better." They all nodded, silently agreeing to Jade's silence pact and soon a realization dawned on Harry.

"Hold on," He said as he sat up and rubbed his forehead as if it would help his mind think clearer. "If your brother is close…or already here, why hasn't he come after you?"

"Because he wants to try and reason with me." Jade was all too familiar with her brother's political tactics. He wanted to try and talk Jade into joining him instead of fighting, he was never too much of a fighter and Jade had been training for decades to hone her control. If only a percentage was used with only shifting half way, imagine the power she could wield if she changed into her full wolf form. Jaxyn knew Jade was a good fighter, but was unaware of her special talent. "He'll leave the dirty work to his pack."

"So you're really like wolves?" Hermione asked, somewhat intrigued by the fact that Jaxyn had a pack. "You have a pack mentality?"

"Most do," A smirk spread on Jade's face as she saw the curiosity grow in Hermione's eyes. "But I'm what you'd call an omega or a lone wolf. I don't have a pack, nor do I desire one, but being Jaxyn's sister and since he technically created me. He longs to have me join him, to complete his sick family so to speak." The brunette 'hmm'd' in response and Harry and Ginny sighed again, trying to keep up with everything they were learning. An hour passed with them teens asking Jade questions and the girl answering them to the best of her abilities, until her stomach growled almost as loud as she had earlier.

"Why don't we order some food?" Harry suggested as he pulled out his phone and started scrolling through contacts. "What sounds good?"

"Anything with meat." Hermione shot Jade a look and the raven haired lycan shrugged. "I'm a carnivore, Hermione." She smirked again as the brunette rolled her eyes and snuggled closer to the girl who wrapped her arm around the brunette's shoulders.

"How about burgers then?" Harry's girlfriend suggested as she rested her leg's on her boyfriend's lap. "From the diner in town? They deliver, right?" The bespectacled boy nodded as he pressed a button on his phone and put it up to his ear.

"Why do you have so many take-out numbers on your phone, Harry?" The brunette asked curiously as he smiled and shrugged.

"When you live with your god-father," He mused as the other line kept ringing. "You eat out a lot. Yes, hello? I'd like to make an order to carry-out." As Harry ordered food for everyone, Hermione and Jade slipped into the kitchen to get drinks. They were silent for a moment before Jade couldn't take it anymore. She'd never admitted her feelings for anyone before, let alone a sixteen year old girl.

"So, what I am," Jade whispered quietly as she stood next to Hermione who was putting ice in four glasses. "Really doesn't bother you?" The brunette smiled softly and shook her head before turning to face the lycan.

"What you are doesn't bother me, Jade. It never would." She took a step forward and wrapped her arms around Jade's neck which cause the lycan to blush slightly before placing her hands on the other girl's hips. "I'll admit, it was a lot to take in, but who you are is what matters. And I know who you are, you're compassionate and protective even though you don't show it. When you kept Ron from hitting me that first day, I knew you weren't like everyone said you were." Hermione leaned up and placed a soft, lingering kiss on the corner of Jade's mouth before drawing back and burying her face in the curve of her neck. "As long as you don't change who you are, I don't care that you're a lycan." Jade's heart was slowly coming back to life as she listened to the brunette's soft voice. She'd been so cold and stoic for what seemed like her entire life and now this young girl was changing her, making her realize how alone she was.

"You're something else, Hermione Granger," Jade's voice was a rough whisper as she leaned down and captured Hermione's lips gently with her own. "Too bad I had to wait a hundred and some years to find you."


	4. Chapter 4

Here's chapter 4! Again, sorry it's taken so long since I've updated again, but here it is finally! And now that I've added a new story to the repertoire, it may take a bit longer since my girlfriend keeps bugging me to get on with Something to Remember and Runaway, but I'll stay vigilant and update stories consistently. Thanks for the review Shadow Bane and I hope you all enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 4: Haunted

It was strange how easy it was to tell the three teenagers in front of her about her past and the reality of what might be coming for Jade. As their food arrived, Ginny and Harry had decided on watching a movie and Jade watched closely as the couple perused through the selections on the television. Hermione was daintily eating her fries as Jade devoured her burger which awarded her with a giggle from the brunette.

"What?" Jade asked as she swallowed her last bite and wiped her mouth. "I was hungry." Hermione rolled her eyes as she scooted closer to the girl who blushed slightly and cleared her throat.

"Nothing," Hermione whispered as she shook her head and ate her food. "Are you, uhm…going to stay the night again?" Blue eyes widened slightly as she munched on her fries.

"Did you want me to after what happened today?" The lycan asked quietly as Harry and Ginny finally settled on some movie. "I mean, I don't want to put you in any danger."

"I know you'll protect me." The brunette smiled as she took Jade's hand in her own and squeezed it firmly.

"Wait," Ginny interrupted as she whipped her head around to look at the couple. "She's been staying here? All night?" Hermione nodded as she looked at her two friends. "So…are you guys together now or what?" Jade looked over at Hermione who was blushing profusely and fidgeting with the hem of her shirt as she bit her bottom lip.

"Well, yes." Hermione answered finally as she cleared her throat and looked at the red headed girl. "I uhm…Ron asked me out last night and I turned him down because I like someone else. And that someone is Jade. I've been drawn to her ever since we met."

"Ron asked you out?" Ginny asked as she munched on some fries. "Jeez and here I thought he was 'too good' for girls at school." Jade scoffed before she chugged her water and sighed in a satisfied manner.

"I think it's the other way around." Jade added as she set her glass down and rolled her eyes. "All the girls at school are too good for you brother, in all my years on this earth I've never met someone as arrogant as him, no offense." Ginny just shrugged and continued to eat as Harry kept staring at his food.

"You all right, Harry?" Jade asked as she noticed the boy not eating. "You look, troubled." The boy blinked a few times before looking towards the blue eyed girl and gave a worried look.

"I'm just curious," Harry said quietly as he rubbed his chin and brought his sandwich up to his mouth. "If Jaxyn wants you so badly, why hasn't he come after you yet himself? He's only sent those other men after you and he must've known you would've dispatched of them," Jade tilted her head slightly listening to Harry's logic as Hermione absentmindedly wrapped her arm around the lycan's. "So what is he waiting for? If he's so powerful, why hasn't he come yet?"

After Harry and Ginny had gone home, Jade was sitting on the couch with her elbows resting on her knees and her eyes narrowed in thought. She was pondering Harry's question. The boy had a very valid point, why hadn't Jaxyn come after her yet? What was he waiting for? Maybe he was just watching her to see what she would do, maybe he thought she was going to run again. That disturbed her even more knowing that her brother could possibly be spying on her at this very moment, but she blocked it out, reassuring that if he was anywhere close she would sense him.

"Are you all right, Jade?" Hermione asked as she reentered the living room and sat down next to the raven haired lycan. "You look distracted."

"Does it really not bother you that I could put you in danger?" Jade asked quietly as her blue eyes glanced over at the girl next to her. "I mean, your life won't be the same now that we're together. You could get hurt." The brunette sighed before turning so she was facing the blue eyed girl and took Jade's hand in her own.

"You told me that you would protect me." She said quietly as she stroked the back of Jade's hand with her fingertips. Jade relaxed a little feeling the girl's feather light touch on her skin. It was still strange how Hermione could make the lycan feel so calm with a mere touch. "And I trust you to if it comes down to a situation like that. I know you wouldn't let anyone hurt me, you showed me this afternoon." Jade nodded as the brunette leaned forward and pressed her lips against Jade's cheek affectionately. "Try not to worry about it, ok? Let's get ready for bed." It didn't take long for the lycan to brush her teeth and strip down into just her tank top and jeans again, lying herself down on Hermione's bed as the younger girl went through her nightly routine. When Hermione finally came out of the bathroom, Jade was lying on her back with her arms splayed above her head.

"I want to take you somewhere tomorrow, ok?" Jade whispered as her girlfriend crawled into bed and laid down on her side to look at blue eyes that were reflecting the moonlight. "I have something I want to show you."

"All right," Hermione yawned as she scooted closer to the lycan's warmth and rested her head on Jade's shoulder. "Is it very far?"

"No, but it is in the mountains." The older girl rolled over slightly to wrap her arm around the brunette's waist and smiled warmly. "So I hope you don't mind a bit of a hike."

x-x

Jade really wasn't joking when she said it was a hike, they were literally hiking through the mountains a half our north of town and Hermione was thankful that it was one of the warmer fall days, the sun shining brightly through the trees as the made their way up the trail. As they neared a clearing half way up, Jade turned to see Hermione huffing lightly and smiled before back tracking and sweeping the girl up into her arms.

"Jade!" Hermione squealed in surprise as she was suddenly looking up at the taller girl who was smirking at her playfully. "I can walk you know!" Jade was already walking briskly as if Hermione as light as a feather and before the brunette knew it, they were standing in a small clearing over-looking their small town. The younger girl gasped as she saw the image in front of her and Jade set her down gently back on her feet. "This is beautiful!"

"I've been coming here for the past forty years." Jade added calmly as she stood next to her girlfriend and took in the view. Even though she had been around for more than one hundred years, scenery still seemed to take her breath away. "I'm glad that you like it."

"It's still strange when you say you've been around for so long." The brunette mumbled as she moved next to the lycan and slipped her arms around Jade's gently. "What's it like to be immortal?" Jade sighed softly as she sat and motioned for Hermione to do the same.

"To be honest," The lycan whispered as she tucked some hair behind her ear to keep the breeze from blowing it in her face. "It's rather lonely, my family and all the friends I had when I was young are all gone. Because of that, I try and keep relationships to a minimum because I will eventually lose everyone I come in contact with." Blue eyes looked sadly down at the shorter girl next to her and she gave a smile. "I've never let myself get too close to anyone other than you, Hermione." The brunette smiled as she nuzzled closer to the lycan who wrapped an arm around the girl's shoulders.

"You've been alone all this time?" Jade nodded as she looked off into the distance and sighed contentedly, enjoying the scent of nature filling her senses. Hermione suddenly felt bad that Jade had spent most of her life without any close companionship. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be." Blue eyes looked down at brown as Hermione glanced up and raised her eyebrows. "You make up for it." The brunette blushed and quickly averted her gaze to the view of the town before Jade chuckled. A gentle hand grasped the shorter girl's chin to turn her face to towards Jade's before their lips brushed softly and warm brown eyes fluttered shut.

"Isn't that romantic?" Jade's eyes widened as she pulled away from Hermione and protectively pushed the mortal girl behind her as a growl vibrated through her throat. "Come now, Jade, don't be so brutish." Blue eyes that matched Jade's perfectly as they glared at the older girl and a smirk spread on the man's face. "How long has it been? One hundred years without seeing you? That's a bit long."

"Jaxyn." The lycan girl growled as Hermione peered around Jade's figure to see the dark haired man, around Jade's height in a dark brown leather jacket and jeans. "One hundred and eight if you want me to be specific. Are you here alone?" Jaxyn chuckled as he ran a hand through his dark hair that hung in front of his eyes and brushed his cheeks.

"I'm an alpha, Jade." He smirked as he narrowed his blue eyes threateningly before extending his hands at his sides. "I'm never alone." Jade tensed as she caught the scents of the other lycans that Jaxyn's most trusted in his pack and put an arm behind her to make sure Hermione was still there. "Oh, you shouldn't be worried about your normal, Jade. You should be worried about yourself." Beck, Jayce, and Lucas appeared from the behind boulders and trees, evil grins gleaming on their lips. Jade cursed herself for not catching their scents sooner and she felt her claws grow from her fingertips as Beck's eyes began to glow in anticipation as a snarl released from his throat. "Now, now…let's not jump straight to violence." His statement didn't ebb Beck's excitement as he glanced at his alpha and his smirk grew bigger. "Let's discuss this like the century old siblings that we are, hm?"

"I don't have anything to say to you." Jade snarled as she tensed her fingers slightly and her eyes flicked back and forth between the lycans in front of her. "Just leave, my answer is the same as it was last time, brother." Jaxyn tilted his head when he saw Hermione behind Jade and an evil smirk spread across his lips.

"Perhaps your little mortal girl can convince you." The man nodded his head and Beck moved forward towards Jade who growled and turned her attention the blonde until she saw Lucas coming from her right. "Don't fight Jade, if you want her safe, just come with us."

"No!" The blue eyed girl spun and scooped Hermione up before jumping down off the ravine and landing on a sturdy tree branch below. "Hang on to me!" She hissed to the brunette as the girl squealed and wrapped her arms around Jade's neck tightly.

"After her!" Jaxyn's voice echoed as the three lycan's growled and shifted before following the lycan girl. Jade heard a snarling and branches breaking as she jumped from tree to tree, trying to out run the wolves on her heels. Their growls and snarls were echoing in the air as Jade stopped abruptly as the tree line stopped at a rapidly flowing river and Hermione gasped as they jerked forward before Jade sunk her claws into the tree to keep them steady.

"What now?" Hermione asked with a shaky voice, not used to being flown through trees or being so high off of the ground. "Jade, what do we do?" The lycan whipped her head around before hearing a howl behind them and she dropped down to the ground.

"You need to hide." Jade whispered as she picked up some mud and began rubbing it on Hermione's arms and legs. "Try and get as much dirt on you as possible, it will mask your scent, and for the love of the druids, stay here!" Hermione nodded frantically as she rubbed dirt on her body and ran to a thick patch of brush. Jade nodded as she leapt over the river and threw her head back into a deep howl. Growls were her response as the lycans drew closer and Hermione flinched when three, large lycan's jumped down on the opposite bank as her girlfriend. The blonde wolf, Beck, crouched before leaping over the river after the sprinting form of the raven haired girl. The grey wolf had to have been Lucas as since the brown-red lycan resembled Jayce's hair and the two followed after Beck. Hermione's breathing was shallow as she stayed crouched down until the growls and snarls became faint in the distance. The brunette's mind was racing, worrying that Jade would make it away safely and more so, that the lycan would come back for her. Suddenly, hands grabbed her shoulders and pulled her up to her feet.

"Gotcha." Jaxyn's once blue eyes, were glowing crimson as they glared at the brunette in his grasp. "You sure have got my sister on a leash, don't you?" He hissed as he sneered at her.

"Let me go!" Hermione shouted as she grappled at his arms, but he just chuckled as he held her in his grasp.

"You're an insect." The man hissed as he walked her over to the rapids raging near them and Hermione dug her feet into the dirt to try and slow them down to no avail. "You're keeping Jade from her true potential, her calling, so to speak. My sister has a role to play by my side and you're another factor that will keep her from me. Because of that," He sighed heavily as if he was upset and confused. "You have to be…dealt with." An evil sneer cracked on his lips as he lifted her by her neck and held her over the white water bubbling under her. Hermione looked down with fear radiating from her eyes. "That's something you normal reek of all the time, fear. You're always afraid of something or someone, but lycans, we fear no one. And if you're around, Jade will always be afraid of losing you. You should be happy." He continued as he gave her a sickeningly sweet smile that would've melted any girl's heart hadn't he been a deranged killer. "You're helping her become a better, too bad we couldn't have met on better terms, she could've turned you, but she still seems to hold on to you normal's ridiculous morals." He winked and as she felt his grip loosen, she closed her eyes and waited to hit the icy water. Suddenly there was a loud snarl and Hermione was jerked forward before falling hard onto the gravelly bank of the river. She heard a chorus of growls as she leaned up and saw Jade's white lycan form standing protectively in front of her, blood staining her claws and mouth.

"Stay away from her." The lycan snarled as she crouched forward on all fours and squared off with Jaxyn, who was now a very large black wolf with glowing red eyes. "I mean it Jaxyn, I don't want to fight you." The black wolf curled his lips back and a growling chuckle rang into the air.

"I can't believe you're choosing that human over your own family."

"You're nothing to me anymore." Jade roared before lunging at the wolf and Hermione lifted her arm to block the dirt that flew when the white lycan sprang forward. Jaxyn released a deafening growl before meeting his opponent in the air and the brunette scrambled to move away from the river as the wolves yelped and howled as claws found flesh. Hermione whimpered when she heard Jade cry in pain and she looked to see Jaxyn's teeth sinking deep into Jade's shoulder. Blood oozed into the black wolf's mouth as his red eyes stared at Hermione before ripping his teeth through her girlfriend's flesh. Jade jumped back, panting, her arm hanging limp at her side and dripping blood onto the damp ground.

"Face it, sister." The black lycan sneered as he bared his teeth and licked the blood off of his lips. "You can't beat me, I made you and you belong to me." Hermione could see the blood pooling at Jade's feet and the fatigue in her body as she slumped slightly, tongue hanging out of her mouth to take in large gulps of air.

"I belong to no one!" Jade's eyes narrowed dangerously as she roared and ran at Jaxyn, catching him off guard as they wrestled, jaws snapping and snarls ripping into the mountain air. The brunette was watching with wide brown eyes as Jade's teeth tore at her brother's neck and Jaxyn yelped in pain before the white wolf released him. The black lycan snarled and Jade, not letting him regain his composure, ran forward and tackled him hard, knocking them both into the rapids.

"Jade!" Hermione screamed as she ran to the bank and watched both wolves battling still in the water, as well as trying to grab onto something to keep them from tumbling down the river. The brunette panicked as she ran down the bank, trying to keep her eyes on the lycans as they bobbed through the rapids. A growl rang in the air as Jade was slammed against a large boulder that split the river into a fork and Jaxyn thankfully went down the left way as Jade slammed into the rock and went to the right. She watched as Jade sank beneath the water and when she popped up again, her hair was black and Hermione's breath caught in her lungs. In her human form, Jade was more likely to lose her battle against the rapids. The brunette decided to run ahead of her girlfriend to try and find an outcrop or something where she could possible reach her. Her lungs were screaming for air as her legs burned from running, but she had to keep going. After Hermione had run a good twenty feet ahead of her girlfriend, she skidded to a stop. "Oh no." In front of her was a sheer vertical drop and she felt her heart skip a beat as she inched to the edge to see a one hundred foot drop. "No, no, no!" She looked around frantically, looking for anything she could use to reach out to her girlfriend. Brown eyes finally spotted a long branch hanging from a tree and she yanked it down, surprised it was a lot heavier than she thought. The brunette saw Jade sinking below and bobbing back up, slamming against rocks and Hermione was honestly surprised the raven haired girl was still fighting to keep her head above the water. "Jade! Grab this!" The girl made her way into the water, up to her waist were a bunch of rocks that made a protective barrier to the rapids. She extended the branch out as far as she could while still having a firm grip, as Jade fought hard to get as close to bank as she could, but the river was wild and sloshing her in every direction. Hermione's heart was pounding as Jade drew closer and she watched as her arm reached out to reach for the branch. "Please." Hermione grunted as she stretched further while keeping a good hold on a dry rock to keep her anchored.

"Hermione!" Jade choked as her fingers grabbed the end of the branch and the brunette's heart leapt as she saw her hand close around it, but suddenly, the branch lurched forward and the end foot snapped as Jade roared. Her claws extending, trying to dig into the broken end, but she was too far away.

"NO!" Brown eyes watched as Jade growled again before being dunked under the water, a large rapid overtaking her and pushing her over the edge of the fall. Hermione crawled frantically out of the water and ran to the drop off looking for any sign of the raven haired lycan. "JADE!" Her voice echoed eerily over the sounds of the roaring waters she was standing next to. She hadn't noticed that tears were leaking out of her eyes as they darted back and forth, searching the banks below for anything that would give her hope that Jade survived. The thought finally dawned on her that she needed to find a way down there as fast as she could. She surveyed the land around her, finally finding that the cliff began to angle down around the lake below and she began running through the forest to get down, her mind racing frantically, hoping to a higher being that Jade had survived.

x-x

The first thing Jade noticed when her eyes snapped open was the freezing water encasing her body and that her entire body was aching when she tried to move. The world around her was swimming as her eyes looked around to try and figure where the hell she was. A groan echoed in her skull as she tried to lift herself up and she faltered, falling back into the shallow water where she was lying face down. Jade had gone through lots of things throughout her century and some years of life, but falling off a one hundred foot waterfall was new and she didn't want to do it again.

"Hermione…" She gasped as she looked around to see the sun being covered by a thick rush of clouds moving in from the west. Hade the brunette made it safely? Where was Jaxyn? Jade's eyes squeezed shut when the thoughts in her mind began to make her head throb and she shook it slowly. Jade finally managed to roll over onto her back so she could breathe better, and that's when she noticed the large gash on her ribs and the severe bruising on her entire right side. She let her head fall back with a frustrated groan, her eyes looked up to see the river she had fallen from and no sign of Hermione. "Ugh…" The lycan was cold and that was something she wasn't used to. The water sloshed steadily around her body as she stared up into the sky and hoped that her body was starting to heal itself so she could go look for the brunette. After a few moments of silence, she felt foot vibrations getting closer to her.

"Jade!" Hermione's voice was distant, but clear in her ears as the lycan lifted her head and rolled over to lift herself on her hands and knees. "Jaaade!"

"I'm here!" The raven haired girl shouted back as her arms began to shake and she crawled out of the shallow water, her muscles screaming for her to rest as she felt grass under her hands. She groaned as the gash on her ribs throbbed, she glanced down to see that it was almost sealed, but that didn't seem to take away the pain from the injury. "Hermione!" The footsteps got faster as the brunette approached and gasped when she saw Jade straining to hold herself up on her hands and knees.

"Oh my god," She whispered as she collapsed to her knees and put her hands gently on the dark haired girl's shoulders. "Are you all right? Is anything broken?" Jade shook her head as she finally seemed to be able to pick herself up with Hermione's help. "God Jade, your right side of your body…"

"It's pretty purple…I know." The lycan answered with a sigh as Hermione flung Jade's arm over her shoulder and wrapped her own around her girlfriend's waist. "We need to find somewhere safe and warm until I'm strong enough to get us back." The brunette nodded as they walked towards the thick tree line when she noticed Jade's bloodstained shirt.

"Jade your side." Hermione whispered as she stopped by the cliff so Jade could lean against it. "You were bleeding…why aren't you now?"

"I'm an incredibly fast healer, Hermione." A small smirk spread on the lycan's lips as she slide down the rock wall and sat down with a groan. She lifted her shirt slowly and show the brunette her now sealed wound that was still red and raw. "See? It's healing up pretty well." Jade shivered when Hermione lightly ran her fingertips over the mark and then gave her a reassuring smile before rolling her shirt back down. "I should be all right in a few minutes. I just, need to catch my breath." Hermione nodded as she sat down next to her girlfriend and curled into her to try and keep her warm. Jade had almost forgotten that her clothes were still damp until she felt her girlfriend's body pressed firmly against her unbruised side.

"You're very warm despite the fact that you were in freezing cold water." Hermione mumbled as she nuzzled her face against the lycan's shoulder. "So, your brother…"

"Yeah." A heavy sigh escaped Jade's lungs as she thought back on the confrontation with her younger brother. "That was Jaxyn. As you can see, he's rather…persistent. I'm really glad we were able to lose him though."

"How long do you think he'll stay away?"

"Not too long." Jade glanced down at the young brunette who was cuddling closer to her a soft breeze blew a chilled fall breeze towards them. "Let's just hope that maybe, he'll leave me alone, but I doubt it. I'm sorry, for bringing you out here without thinking that he could be out here." Hermione shook her head and sat up straight before taking Jade's face gently into her hands.

"You protected me," She whispered before leaning forward and resting her forehead against her girlfriend's. "Like you promised, so you have nothing to be sorry for. I'm just relieved you're alive." Hermione leaned forward and pressed her lips softly against the lycan's who squeaked softly in surprise, but quickly reciprocated. The kiss was gentle and slow in the beginning, but it didn't take long for the brunette to lose herself as Jade's hands found her waist and pulled her closer. Lips parted and Hermione brushed the tip of her tongue along her girlfriend's bottom lip, enticing them to open and Jade responded immediately, allowing Hermione access. Jade's adrenaline skyrocketed as her tongue danced with Hermione's, slowly massaging and pushing to try and gain dominance. In the back of her mind, Jade knew this wasn't the best time or place for this to be happening, but she wasn't going to argue. She felt the ache in her body ebbing as she pulled away slowly and looking into Hermione's darker than normal brown eyes, seeing her glowing blue in the reflection.

"You sure know how to help me heal." Jade teased gently as she gently brushed her fingertips against her girlfriend's smooth skin. The brunette tilted her head slightly in confusion and then lifted the raven haired girl's shirt to see the scar was fading slowly and less raw, the bruises on her right side fading slowly.

"I did that?" The brunette whispered as she awed at the fact that the girl in her arms was already healed. "How?" Jade just smirked before leaning forward and capturing Hermione's lips with her own in a passionate, lingering kiss. Hermione sighed softly as her eyes fluttered shut as Jade nibbled on her bottom lip. After a few seconds of heated kissing, Jade pulled away slowly and smiled at her girlfriend.

"By giving me an adrenaline rush."


End file.
